Another disappointing set of report cards have gone out after the slumping US national team dropped a 1-0 friendly decision against visiting Costa Rica on Tuesday night.
On one hand, the Nats were much more steady and organized than in Saturday's rough CONCACAF Cup defeat to Mexico. On the other, they also played a bland, safe game that left the team with three straight losses for the second time in less than a year. Prior to that, the USMNT had not fallen three times in a row since 2007.
STARTING XI
Tim Howard (7) - No great complaints can be made about the netminder, who rang up four saves and a punch. Howard rescued the team from hairy situations with big stops at both ends of the second half.
Brad Evans (7) - Among the few US field players with raised stock after Tuesday night, Evans chalked up two big doorstep clearances to go with five pass interceptions. He's always needed more cutting edge going forward from right back, but the Seattle man did manage seven positive passes in or into the final third on this night.
Geoff Cameron (5.5) - The Stoke handyman again showed that he could reliably move the ball out of the back from a central station. However, Cameron's defensive influence was oddly limited and he even allowed a couple of centering feeds to squirt past him.
Michael Orozco (4.5) - The Tijuana defender squandered his shot to start in the middle with mistakes. Orozco generally passed the ball safely and notched a big early area tackle, but he also got turned dizzy a few times, requiring bailouts.
Tim Ream (7) - Just as good as Evans overall, the left back wins a passing comparison. Ream only misfired on two of 30 passes and completed 16 straight from the 20th minute until his removal just past the hour. The Fulham recruit was also wearing Costa Rica shirts in defense, with most trouble out of his corner attributable to the slack of others.
Daniel Williams (3.5) - Like Orozco, Williams was well off his best on a night when he could have planted a lineup flag. There were a couple of uncharacteristic nightmare turnovers on the ball and his already lacking defensive impact all but disappeared over the last 40 minutes. Worst of all, the Reading midfielder made no effort to track Ticos scorer Campbell on the winner.
Jermaine Jones (5) - It was a rather lukewarm showing from the Revs star; he certainly wasn't calamitous, but it was quite a faceless effort from a noted spark. In this lineup, he needed to be more assertive in directing the offense forward.
DeAndre Yedlin (4.5) - While this space cannot understand why Yedlin would work any friendly away from right back at this point in his development, he will always get back to make a few defensive plays from a wing position. The bad news is, despite missing on just two passes all night, his key danger moments in attack were few and far between. The right-sider still needs to ask more (and snappier) questions of the opposing defense.
Brek Shea (4) - Aside from one pinpoint restart, Shea didn't create much danger or help so well in the possession game. He also was burnt a couple of notable times at the back before leaving in the 72nd minute.
Gyasi Zardes (4.5) - Regardless of how he plays as a USMNT winger on a given night, many observers will note it's not his natural position. The problem is, Zardes may not yet be an international-level forward. Simply put, he needs to be less timid and "try sh**" (to steal a Bruce Arena phrase). There were a couple of times when an earlier decision and a little gall might have done the trick.
Jozy Altidore (5) - Only slightly more active than Zardes was his far more experienced elder. Those who claim Altidore should not operate as a lone central striker apparently do not repeatedly watch him get bored and wander out to the flanks for the ball when given a partner up top. On this night, the Toronto FC hit man barely touched the ball within shouting distance of the area over 45 minutes.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (4) - What we saw tonight was a defeated team. There was little spirit in their intent and no joie de vivre in their actions. The hosts had 57 percent of the ball, but you'd never know it. Following Saturday's loss, this all seems kind of unforgivable.
On top of that mental mess, the team is obviously confused once they cross the midfield stripe. The lineup is set to have wingers generate attack, but there seems no tactical effort to facilitate that scenario. Counting a penalties loss in the Gold Cup bronze medal match, the US have dropped five of six while showing almost no organization going forward. We are past discussing if the team has gone backwards; the question now is when do we stop forcing game plans and personnel moves that clearly don't work.
Subs:
Ventura Alvarado (5.5) - The second-half sub was largely solid and made a nice help play early in the period. Things got a little sloppy later in Alvarado's shift. Still, it was an encouraging step overall.
Mix Diskerud - (5.5) - Not to come off like a broken record, but it was a fairly flavorless night from the halftime sub. Mix wasn't bad, but he also didn't change the tide.
Bobby Wood (5.5) - The Union Berlin forward continued to show he can eat yardage and work defenders, and he even showed some added physical fight. However, Wood still needs to raise his level of exactness while dribbling toward or into the area.
Jonathan Spector (4) - The Birmingham veteran has enjoyed some big sub shifts in a US shirt over the years. This was not one of them. Over the last 26 minutes, the impromptu left back had a bad turnover, lost a runner and got hypnotized by the overlap to free the set-up man on Costa Rica's winning goal play.
Andrew Wooten (5.5) - The debutant handled all of his possession touches, but like Altidore, quickly drifted to the wing and out of scoring range.
Lee Nguyen (5.5) - The Revs ace showed a bit of fancy footwork and patience on the ball, but was unable to unlock the Ticos at any time.
