U.S. Soccer provides this Aug. 3 update on U.S. national team players who are based abroad. Jovan Kirovski is competing for a regular first team spot with Sporting Lisbon, where he transferred this summer. Kirovski has been assigned uniform number 19, and has played in each of the Portuguese League champions preseason exhibition matches, scoring a goal against Vitoria Setubal and registering 45 minutes against Italian Serie AÆs Parma. A starter in Wednesday’s 5-0 road win at Academica, Kirovski opened the scoring with a goal in the first minute. Sporting will meet Real Madrid in a friendly exhibition on Aug. 9, in Lisbon. Joe-Max Moore , with the English Premier LeagueÆs Everton, is continuing his recovery from injury. He gave a solid 90-minute effort against Preston North End last weekend, combining at forward with Francis Jeffers and contributing two assists in a 5-0 exhibition victory. Moore played the final 45 minutes and was denied by a fine save from Joe Murphy on Wednesday as Everton fell to Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park, 2-0. After playing Exeter City on Saturday and Plymouth on Monday, Everton faces Yeovil Town on Wednesday night before the final preseason friendly against Manchester City on August 12. In Glasgow, midfielder Claudio Reyna and his Rangers teammates opened their Scottish Premier League title defense with a 2-1 victory over St. Johnstone at Ibrox on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Reyna returned from World Cup duty to help Rangers defeat Zalgiris Kaunas, 4-1, in a second round qualifying match for the Champions League. On Wednesday, in the return leg at Lithuania, Reyna again turned in 90 minutes as the Scottish champions advanced to the third qualifying round with a 0-0 draw. Rangers will meet Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in Scottish Premier League play on Saturday, and will square off against Danish side Herfolge over two legs on August 9 and 23 in third round qualifying action for the Champions League. A pair of Americans, defender Gregg Berhalter and U-23 forward John Thorrington, have been in England on a trial basis with an eye toward signing with an English League team. Berhalter, seeking a move from recently demoted Cambuur in Holland, has been working out at Huddersfield Town, where injuries to Jamie Vincent, Thomas Heary and Ken Monkou have made the signing of a defender a priority for Manager Steve Bruce. Of Thorrington, on trial at Bolton Wanderers, head coach Sam Alllardyce said: “He’s the most impressive of a long line of trialists we’ve had here.” The German League will play its first Bundesliga games on Friday, August 11, and recently concluded the annual pre-season German League Cup. The Cup, and nearly $1.2 million in prize money, features the top six teams from the previous year, and was won by Bayern Munich over Tony Sanneh’s Hertha BSC club. Sanneh entered as a substitute in the semifinal match against Bayer Leverkusen side and contributed the game-tying assist. John O’Brien continues to impress new Ajax coach Co Adriaanse as the Dutch team attempt to rebound from their sub-standard fifth place finish last year. Ajax will host a four-team tournament featuring Arsenal, Barcelona and Lazio at the Amsterdam Arena on August 3 and 5, and will also play exhibition matches against Groningen (August 9) and Coventry City (August 12) before opening the league season on August 22 against Fortuna Sittard.