GK Brad Guzan: 7.2
Guzan's frustration rating: 9.9. He
must be wondering how the United States is allowing twenty-one shots
in a match against Haiti. Luckily, most of those shots were nowhere
near target, and the few that were Guzan dealt with easy enough.
RB Brad Evans: 6.0
Brad Evans was the first of several
changes to the starting XI. Evans was adequate defending the right
side. He avoided making a big mistake, and was usually adept at
containing his man. Evans was not a threat on offense. He did get
forward in a deep position to cross once, but remained back the
remainder of the match. This was beneficial, because he was always
there to pick up his man when Haiti broke forward. At times, Evans
had trouble dealing with Haiti's speed, especially in the second
half, as his opponent could get around him on the dribble. However,
Evans showed good composure, waiting for the perfect time to make a
tackle, and break up the play.
CB Omar Gonzalez: 5.5
Omar Gonzalez was the weaker of the
two center backs last night. He is the central defender with the most
experience; he should be expected to be a solidifying force in the
back four, but he was not. He and Tim Ream failed to communicate at
times, and work together to handle attacks. Often Omar did not put
enough pressure on the attack, Hait typically only broke forward with
one or two men, and allowed many shots to be taken. Omar also missed
a few tackles high up the field when he tried to break up an attack,
which led to some scary moments for the US defense. Omar was best
when defending balls coming into the box, where he could use his size
to head the ball out. The US sometimes tried the MLS style of
attack—long passes from their own territory to a lone striker
sitting in front of the opponent's defense, but Gonzalez was not able
to hit anyone in a possession of any real danger.
CB Tim Ream: 6.0
Tim Ream was the better of the two
center backs. His clearances were more sure-footed. He did better
than anyone (Gonzalez, Brooks, or Alvarado) moving to the outside to
help the fullback. He was just as adept at dealing with balls into
the box as Gonzalez was, but everywhere else he was a quite a bit
better than his counterpart. He even had a better passing accuracy
percentage 82%:77%.
LB Greg Garza: 5.6
There was quite a bit of hype
surrounding Greg Garza's potential start last night. He showed some
good quality getting forward in spots. However, he gave the ball away
too easily after his initial run forward, which led to counter
attacks from Haiti. Luckily some of Tim Ream's play helped cover
Garza. Garza worked himself into the middle more on offense than out
wide, and did not show off his cross.
RCM Graham Zusi: 5.2
Zusi did not have his best match for
the US. Despite a deeper position than he is used to playing, Zusi
played very forward throughout the match; he often ended up playing
behind Dempsey and Altidore. Zusi did not help the team in
possession, especially during their early struggles in the first
half. Zusi at times put himself on an island on the right side, where
he was ignored. Upon receiving the ball he often gave it away
promptly, whether it was a misplayed dribble, or pass (he had a poor
73% passing accuracy).
CM Michael Bradley: 6.1
Michael Bradley was the keystone for
the US when they had the ball. All possession went through him,
especially in the first half. Bradley did a good job committing to
his holding position in the first half. He distributed the ball well,
and kept himself in a good position to help defend when Dempsey,
Johannsson, Zusi and Mix inevitably gave the ball away in front of
him. He also picked his moments to come forward well, though he did
not have any shining moments offensively either. In the second half,
Bradley switch places with Mix, and played a more forward role. He
played alright there as well, although he did not have any
particularly dangerous balls into the box. Interestingly enough,
Bradley led the US with two shots, both of which were off target.
Finally, the best part of Bradley's game last match were his
deliveries on set pieces. However, the quality of these were just a
little lacking, missing on several occasions. He did have one
dangerous FK, placing a ball near the far post for Dempsey in a
similar position as their goal a match before, but the goalkeeper did
well to get to it.
LCM Mix Diskerud: 6.0
Mix's performance last night was,
well, a mixed bag. He struggled in the first half playing ahead of
Bradley, and being expected to carry possession. He was often
dispossessed leading to a counter from Haiti. He also was not able to
get deep enough into Hait's territory to cause mischief with his
passing. In the second half, Mix moved back behind Bradley, and
played as the holding midfielder where he was the fulcrum of the US
attack. He excelled there offensively able to make long passes to
Zusi and Zardes on the wings, and immediately get the US in dangerous
positions. He finished the match with an impressive 91% passing
accuracy, and most of his damage was done in this second half. Mix is
not a typical defensive midfielder though, and although he was a
willing defender, his defense sometimes amounted to nothing more than
a frantic slide tackle, which would sometimes win the ball, but was
just as likely to miss, or be late and called a foul for a free kick
in a threatening area.
CAM Clint Dempsey: 6.4
Another match, another goal for Clint
Dempsey. Dempsey started the match in a No.10 position. He got a
couple good balls to Johannsson and Altidore, but could not
consistently be the offenses catalyst. Thus far this tournament he
has struggled making passes in dangerous areas and holding position
for the offense. However, in the second half, Dempsey was moved into
a forward position, which freed him into the box where he excels. He
immediately got a goal off a great effort and pass from Zardes.
ST Jozy Altidore: 5.7
Altidore had trouble getting into
dangerous areas with the ball. He had trouble controlling the ball
when he received it off long air passes, and he did not use his body
as much as last match to work himself into the box. Later in the
first half he resolved to play deeper and receive the ball before
entering the final third, but this left him too far away when
Johannsson got himself in the box. Altidore did have one great
opportunity, receiving the ball in space inside the box just to the
left of goal, but he gave up the open left-footed shot, and instead
decided to cut back to the other side where several defenders awaited
him.
ST Aron Johannsson: 6.5
Johannsson was the catalyst for the
team in the early going. He utilized great positioning and speed to
get into the seams of the defense and threaten with the ball. Despite
getting the ball in these dangerous positions, Aron could not turn
the opportunities into goals, or even shots. Altidore and Dempsey
were rarely on the same page as Johannson as he was much further up
the pitch expecting the long ball. Once he received the ball, there
was no one to help support him, and he was unable to work himself
into a shot once the defense caught up. Johannson should have had a
goal off of a deflection, but it was unjustly called offside.
SUB Gyasi Zardes: 7.5
Zardes was great coming into this
match in the second half. He immediately made an impact, receiving
the ball in the box, and making a great play to cut in and find
Dempsey for a goal. Throughout the remainder of the match he used his
speed to put the defense in uncomfortable positions. His passing was
also much improved, ending with an 89% passing accuracy, and he was a
much more willing defender.
SUB Fabian Johnson: 6.0
Fabian Johnson came on for Garza
halfway through the second half. He immediately got forward to
initiate a US attack. On a later play, he received the ball in space
on the left hand side, but had to slow down as it seemed he wanted to
pull back and cut in. It is obvious Johnson would prefer playing on
the right—his natural side. However, there still is not an adequate
option for the US to take his place.
SUB Kyle Beckerman: N/A
Beckerman came in late in the match to
help close out the win. He did well in a deep role, holding
possession.
Man of the Match: Gyasi Zardes
Coming off a less than stellar
performance in the opener. Zardes really came into his own in the
second half of this match. He used his speed to get the ball in
perilous positions on the left side, which quickly led to the
creation of the US's only goal.
-Well, I got my wishes from the other
night and both Brad Evans and Graham Zusi were added to the starting
XI. One of these, Evans, seemed to work out, while the other, Zusi,
struggled to find where he fit in this formation.
-I did not expect so many changes to
the squad for this match. I understand this is just the Gold Cup
group stage. The United States can afford to change things up, and
try different formations and personnel switches. However, just
because you can do something, does not mean you should. Lineup
tinkering is why there are friendlies. I have heard Arsene Wenger say
(paraphrasing, and imagine a French accent), “It's not good to make
too many changes between matches because it can ruin the chemistry.”
You can also think of squad changes scientifically. In every
experiment you need a variable and a control. If you change a ton to
the lineup there is very little constant, and it makes judgement
difficult.
I do not think it aides the US
tinkering too much with lineup because they need to know what their
best XI is when the quarterfinals start (which is only a single match
away). How could you possibly know if Bradley or Beckerman should be
your designated holding midfielder if you employ one in a 4-3-1-2 and
one in a 4-4-2 wide diamond? How do you know if Ream and Omar is a
better pairing than Brooks and Alvarado if you set them up with a
different set of full backs and a different group of midfielders in
front of them? You won't. So, you can tinker all you want, but you
are unlikely to find the necessary answers by the quarterfinals if
you change too much match-to-match. This will also convolute the
chemistry between players. I think Dempsey, Altidore, Zusi, and to
some extant, Bradley all suffered from this. Now what will happen if
they go back to a completely different formation next match?
-At this point, I'm willing to say
Fabian Johnson, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, DeAndre Yedlin, and
Brad Guzan should start every match. Zardes could be the next to
enter that group with another good performance (and the fact the US
does not have another capable LM).
-I really miss Matt Besler and Geoff
Cameron. This entire group of center backs scare me.
-I was really expecting the US to show
me how good they could be last night, after I proclaimed Mexico to be
the favorite to win this tournament, but I am not any less convinced.
(Thanks to http://www.concacaf.com/category/gold-cup for keeping surprisingly detailed statistics, even when WhoScored.com thinks the Gold Cup unnecessary.)
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