The US national team continued their winter goal parade, with Jesus Ferreira acting as marshal in a 7-0 demolition of friendly foe Trinidad & Tobago in Orlando on Sunday.
The home side pressed early and often, and then proceeded to systematically dismantle the Soca Warriors time and again. There's plenty to be said about the ease of facing a team full of players that haven't seen a game in months (and there's always a small bit of opponent degree-of-difficulty factored into these marks), but the USMNT were still good value for this blowout romp thanks to a buffet of outstanding final-third execution.
Player Ratings:
Matt Turner (7) — The New England Revolution backstop could have spent most of the game binging old Scrubs episodes, but he came up big the only time the visitors came calling. Turner basically suckered Alvin Jones into aiming his penalty kick to the right side before pouncing that way to smother his attempt. Pretty shrewd work from a debutant.
Aaron Herrera (7.5) — The Real Salt Lake right back was just shy of a menace going forward in this one. Herrera repeatedly pushed the team toward the final third, and served some tempting crosses once they got there. If he wanted to display the wheels and verve it takes to make it at this level, this was the way to do it.
Miles Robinson (8) — The Atlanta United center back made his first US start special with a well-rounded showing. Robinson supported possession well and won a load of aerial challenges to keep Trinidad & Tobago pinned in their end. He finally put the icing on the cake with a well-taken restart goal.
Aaron Long (7.5) — Like Robinson, Long tidied up the stray rushes mounted by the visitors. He also passed the ball positively, and picked up an assist by nodding a restart back across the box for his partner to put away.
Sam Vines (7.5) — Though the Colorado left back faded a good bit after the break, he was essential to the team's first half dominance. Vines' terrific lead ball keyed the opener and he went to the end line to tee up their second. In addition, he forced a handful of turnovers in the away end that sparked attacks.
Jackson Yueill (7) — The San Jose midfielder's first half mostly involved hovering up loose balls and administrative possession work. Yueill opened up the passing palette after the break to ignite some dangerous team moves.
Kellyn Acosta (7) — Like Yueill, Acosta kept things simple to keep the US motor running in the opening frame before becoming more assertive with the ball after intermission. The Rapids man picked up a pair of second half helpers, the second with a fantastic diagonal ball to release Jonathan Lewis.
Sebastian Lletget (7.5) — The LA Galaxy ace jam-packed his first half shift with attack facilitation. Lletget was moving teammates around the Trinidad & Tobago end like chess pieces.
Paul Arriola (8) — Long story short: The visitors simply had no answer for Arriola's pacy running. He got loose wide, he sliced through the middle, creating danger with nearly every step. The D.C. United attacker potted a couple of assured finishes, and eventually notched the assist his industry deserved on the capper.
Jonathan Lewis (8) — Speaking of confident, professional finishes, the Colorado winger bagged a pair of his own. The brilliance of his first goal was that he filled the lane vacated by Ferreira. The second strike was pure eye candy from distance. In between, Lewis' running kept the left flank tilted to the attacking third.
Jesus Ferreira (8.5) — It's not easy to play the role asked of the 20-year-old, but he handled it like a knowing vet. All night long, Ferreira pulled defenders around, gained a good position in or around the area and played teammates into the space he created. And when he wasn't busy racking up three assists, the FC Dallas kid found time for a couple of capitalistic goals of his own.
Coach Gregg Berhalter (8.5) — I mean, what complaints can we really have? Once again, Berhalter picked the ideal method for ripping apart an overmatched opponent and the boys followed the plan to get the job done. I was skeptical of the "false No. 9" plot using Ferreira, but it was actually the perfect maneuver against this opponent.
Subs:
Andres Perea (5.5) — Though perhaps utilized slightly out of position, the Orlando City youngster showed his ability to act as a positive midfield conduit. A couple of defensive gaffes, including a penalty foul that could have been avoided by moving his feet, knocked his grade just below passing.
Daryl Dike (5) — Unlike many of his US teammates, Dike looked very much like a player who hadn't had a game for a couple months. He still would have scored were it not for a timely doorstep block by the away defense.
Chris Mueller (6) — The Orlando City flank man was oddly quiet for most of his 26-minute shift, but nearly booked an assist on the Dike chance mentioned above.
Cristian Roldan (6.5) — The Seattle midfielder was up to his usual tricks, acting as a gritty glue guy and picking rare spots to jump into attack.
George Bello (6) — The young Atlanta United left back chose when to push forward well, but these episodes didn't amount to much.
Tanner Tessmann (6.5) — Like the kid above him, Tessmann did no harm as a teen debutant. The FC Dallas midfielder covered a lot of ground and shipped a half dozen positive passes into attack in his 12 minutes.
