Three points is three points, but the United States men’s national team did not put its best foot forward in Tuesday’s Gold Cup opener. As always, ASN rates each U.S. player and encourages you to do the same.
BY
Brooke Tunstall
Posted
July 08, 2015
8:30 AM
THE VIDEO OF THIS ONE likely won’t be saved in any U.S. Soccer archives for posterity’s sake.
In a game in which it was outplayed for stretches and fought chaos and frantic play as much as the opposition, the United States men’s national team defeated Honduras 2-1 in Frisco, Texas to open the 2015 Gold Cup.
Two goals off Clint Dempsey’s noggin and some big saves from Brad Guzan were enough to overcome sloppy passing, iffy defense, and some baffling officiating that saw a physical game at times resemble rugby as much as soccer.
But such is life in CONCACAF and the U.S. has a long history of playing down to the level of its opposition but managing to slog its way through for a positive result—and that was again the case Tuesday night.
Group play is about getting points and the U.S. nabbed three of them to sit atop Group A after Haiti and Panama tied earlier in the evening. It also shouldn’t be ignored that the Hondurans have played in the past two World Cups and will likely be one of the more difficult teams the U.S. faces in this tournament.
Ultimately the U.S. will take the result but do so knowing there is much room for improvement. To the ratings…
STARTERS
BRAD GUZAN—The big goalkeeper has waited almost 10 years to become the first-choice starter for the national team but he didn’t have to wait much longer to make a difference. He made two huge saves in the game’s opening minutes after Honduras shot out of the starting gate, allowing the U.S to stay in the contest. HE was solid the rest of the game and shared little of the blame on Honduras’ goal. Rating: 7.5
FABIAN JOHNSON—Got caught out of position midway through the first half leading to a Honduras chance but was otherwise solid most of the game. He had a couple of nice forays forward, one of which should have resulted in an assist with slightly better finishing. Rating: 5.5
JOHN BROOKS—A couple of shaky minutes early that added to the game’s chaotic flow but settled down nicely and was quite solid, especially in the air, where he won almost everything that came his way. He still allows too much space between himself and his centerback partner but it’s hard to know who is to blame there. Rating: 6
VENTURA ALVARADO—A rough way to get officially cap-tied, Alvarado seemed a step slow most of the night, was badly faked out by Andy Najar late in the first half, and then way too slow to react and again went to ground too easily on Honduras’ goal. He had some better moments in between but learning on the fly is rough. Rating: 4
TIMOTHY CHANDLER—Arguably his best defensive game in a U.S. shirt, Chandler avoided the mental lapses and poor positioning that have plagued him in the past as he broke up several Honduran attacks. Didn’t add as much offensively but his overlapping run drew the corner kick that created the first U.S. goal. Rating: 6
KYLE BECKERMAN—Answered any questions about why at 33 years of age he is still part of the U.S. side with another solid showing of grunt-work and, particularly in the first half, several well-timed defensive runs to break up Honduras’ goal-scoring chances. Rating: 7
GYASI ZARDES—Playing left mid, he was solid defensively, save for a dangerous give away late in the second half, as he tracked back well most of the game. Didn’t add much offensively but had a couple of flourishes that led to near-chances. Rating: 5.5
MICHAEL BRADLEY—Not the dominant performances he’s turned in of late as he didn’t get the ball as much in midfield as he has in recent games and didn’t create as much from the run of play. At the same time, his cross off a short corner led to the first U.S. goal and his perfectly struck free kick led to the second, so he still made a big impact. Rating: 6.5
DEANDRE YEDLIN—Active in right mid, he drew a lot of fouls and played decent enough defense but he failed to create much offensively after being off a tic with most of his passes. He then failed to finish a 1-v-1 with the Honduran goalkeeper after being sprung by Johnson. Rating: 5
CLINT DEMPSEY—A goal-scorer’s game, where he did little from the run of play but still ended up with a brace because of an alert header off a rebound in the first half and a well-timed run on a set-piece in the second. Still managed to leave us feeling like he could have given us so much more. Rating: 6.5
JOZY ALTIDORE—Didn’t get a lot of service so he struggled to make an impact. Provided good hold-up play the few times he got the ball and took a nice shot that forced a rebound that bounced right to Dempsey for his first goal. Rating: 5.5
SUBSTITUTES
CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI—Provided energy but little else in terms of possession or chances, though he didn’t get much in the way of service. Rating: 5
BRAD EVANS—Subbed on in the 63rd minute, he made a couple of nice tackles to break up some scoring chances but arguably could have slid over in support faster on Honduras’ goal—though at that point the defensive shape was already shot. Rating: 6
GRAHAM ZUSI—In a brief cameo, a player known more for his offense made a couple of nice defensive plays, though he also had a foolish back-pass that led to a Honduras free kick in the game’s dying moments. Rating: 5.5
THE COACH
JURGEN KLINSMANN—If it ain’t broke, coach, don’t fix it! During its recent wins over Mexico, the Netherlands, and Germany, the U.S. benefitted from Klinsmann’s switch to a diamond formation that replaced pacier wide midfielders with more possession-oriented center mids like Mix Diskerud, Joe Corona, and Alfredo Morales. But Klinsmann curiously abandoned that against Honduras, instead opting for pacier flanks in Yedlin and Zardes. And while that’s understandable given the Hondurans’ athleticism, the U.S. struggled to hold the ball and create chances and the team seemed a step slow and was on their heels most of the game. The U.S. won because it had better players, not because those players were better prepared. Rating: 4.5
These are Brooke’s ratings. Please share yours with our easy-to-use Player Ratings tool.
Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.
