New York Red Bulls ace Tyler Adams played the goal hero as the US national team scored a hard-fought 1-0 friendly victory over 10-man visitors Mexico in Nashville.
The green home side struggled mightily to string connect positive passes in the El Tri half until nearly an hour had gone, but raised their game on the ball in time to take full advantage of a 67th-minute Angel Zalvidar ejection.
Zack Steffen (6) — The Columbus Crew SC netminder accounted for fine early corner kick save and a strong late cross claim. However, Steffen does get a demerit for taking an unnecessary risk rushing out of the goalmouth to handle on the outside edge of the box.
Shaq Moore (5) — It was a shaky first half for the right back, who lost a corner kick mark and was a turnover waiting to happen going forward. Moore played considerably better after intermission, but still stopped short of shining.
Matt Miazga (6) — It wasn't the best first half for Miazga, who was guilty of a couple of unhelpful giveaways and of surrendering a danger free kick in the U.S. end. He returned to shut-down mode after the break.
Cameron Carter-Vickers (7.5) — The Swansea loan center back was easily the defensive standout of the night. Carter-Vickers was cool as can be throughout, whether crumpling up a Mexico attack plan or handling an iffy pass at the back.
Eric Lichaj (5.5) — It was another odd shift for the veteran, who always seems to suffer a focus lapse in U.S. appearances. There were a couple of those and Lichaj rarely got forward to any effect, but he also racked up a game-high seven tackles among 13 total defensive stops in just 56 minutes.
Wil Trapp (6) — The skipper was more active in halting rushes than usual, but rarely broke lines with his generally effective passing game. Trapp's another guy whose game improved in the second half.
Weston McKennie (6) — The Schalke midfielder looked on his way to a solid showing before departing with a knock five minutes before halftime. McKennie enjoyed a couple of nice surges into attack and snuffed out a few El Tri rushes before leaving.
Tyler Adams (8) — Once again, Adams ran all around doing the little things. He was a human pressure valve, connecting on a far-and-away team-high 25 positive passes in or into the Mexico end. And to top it all off, he made no mistake with a late run finish to give the USMNT their first border way win in nearly three-and-a-half years.
Kellyn Acosta (6.5) — The Colorado midfielder had a quiet first half both on and off the ball, and his restart service was nothing to write home about all night. When Acosta started wandering inside after the interval, his influence grew until he led the rush and fed the crosser on the winner.
Timothy Weah (7) — He didn't show up on the score sheet, but nearly every meaningful U.S. attack foray besides the goal play went through the young speedster. Weah only got behind the defense once, but he adjusted when the game stopped coming to him. His eagerness to drop deep helped the team start bridging the midfield stripe in the second half.
Eric Lichaj, Gyasi Zardes defend | USA Today Sports Images
Gyasi Zardes (7) — This is one of those sneaky striker performances some may not appreciate. Zardes linked when he received the ball on the ground, battled thanklessly for long balls and was a general nuisance to the opposing back line. And on the game's lone goal, he dragged both center backs with him to clear a lane for Adams to exploit.
Coach Dave Sarachan (6.5) — As has become routine during his tenure, there were good and bad things to ponder. The team's defensive shape was typically strong, while the attack organization took about an hour to show up. But Sarachan's young charges were up for the scrap and kept their wits to eventually earn the win.
Subs
Julian Green (5.5) — The Greuther Furth attacker was in too much of a hurry for the first 15 minutes of his outing, and it resulted in some lost possessions. Then, Green started making calmer decisions in leading the team forward.
Antonee Robinson (6.5) — There were a couple of late issues at the back, but Robinson also arguably served the best two open-play crosses of the night. One of those slipped behind the rallying back line to find Adams for the goal.
Bobby Wood (5.5) — Immediately after coming on, he failed to corral a couple of good passes into his feet in attack positions. After taking a solid bump to the noodle, though, Wood did wiggle past a defender at the end line to breach the area.
DeAndre Yedlin (5.5) — The Newcastle man found time in a short shift to make a couple of stops, but also allowed a couple of crosses by.
Cristian Roldan (-) — A quick cameo.
Marco Delgado (-) — A quicker cameo.
