The 1999 edition of the US Under-17 national team was arguably the best American youth national team in history, and three distinguished members of that class enjoyed outstanding weekends.

US national team veterans Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Oguchi Onyewu were all key figures in important victories for their club teams, each scoring or setting up winning goals.

In Germany, Danny Williams earned a start at center back for TSG Hoffenheim, and while his team fell to Bayern Munich, teammate and fellow US national team newcomer Fabian Johnson managed to get on the scoreboard. Young American Joseph Gyau made the bench for Hoffenheim for the second straight match, but is still waiting for his Bundesliga debut.

In Mexico, Edgar Castillo put in another 90-minute performance for Club Tijuana, which saw Joey Corona return from the US Under-23 national team camp to put in a lengthy shift as a substitute in Tijuana’s 3-1 loss to Mexican League leaders Santos Laguna.

In Scotland, Maurice Edu and Carlos Bocanegra both played 90 minutes in Rangers’ 4-0 win vs. Hibernian.

So which Americans enjoyed the strongest performances this past weekend? Here’s the rundown:

Puebla was in dire need of a goal, and a win, when Jaguares came to town on Saturday, and Beasley helped provide both with his clever cutback-and-finish to give the Mexican club a 1-0 victory.

Beasley has enjoyed a career renaissance since returning from Europe to sign for Puebla. His speed, creativity and goals have made him a top threat for Puebla, and have helped put him back in the US national team picture.

Birmingham City enjoyed a banner day in routing Sheffield United, 4-0, in their FA Cup fourth round-up match-up and Spector was strong for Birmingham, playing a full 90 minutes at right back.

Spector has made the transition from central midfield to right back in recent weeks and has helped Birmingham City hit a strong run of form that has the club unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions. Saturday’s shutout of Sheffield United was the team’s fourth consecutive clean sheet.

It wasn’t a banner day for TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday, but one of the few bright spots was Johnson, who scored on a classy finish to give his side a consolation goal in a 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich.

Johnson’s left-footed volley didn’t change the outcome of the match, but did provide a reminder of just how dangerous a player he is, and why he is being projected as a starting left winger for the United States when the full national team reconvenes to face Italy next month.

A first-minute yellow card wasn’t the best way to start the day, but Onyewu quickly made up for that by scoring a pair of nearly identical first-half header goals to help lift Sporting CP to a 2-0 victory against Beira mar in Portuguese Liga action on Sunday.

Onyewu has enjoyed an outstanding season for Sporting since joining the team last summer, providing an imposing presence on the back-line, as well as a serious threat on set pieces.

Donovan turned in a ‘Man of the Match’ performance by helping Everton knock off Clint Dempsey and Fulham, 2-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday. The Galaxy footballer set up a pair of goals, including the game-winning header by Marouane Fellaini, to help the Toffees advance to the fifth round, where they will take on the winner of Blackpool and Sheffield United.

Donovan continued to provide a serious threat on the right flank for Everton, and both his assists against Fulham came off perfect crosses from the right. Things will only get tougher for Donovan and Everton, as they take on Premier League leaders Manchester City on Tuesday.