By IVES GALARCEP
When the lineup was announced for Saturday’s U.S. Men’s National Team match vs. Cuba, the fact that Joe Corona’s name was in the squad came as somewhat of a surprise. While he did show better in the second half of last Tuesday’s win vs. Belize, Corona had gone two straight matches without delivering a complete performance.
Klinsmann chose to start Corona against Cuba anyway and the Club Tijuana midfielder rewarded him with his best USMNT match to date. Corona was one of the few players who played well from the very start of the match, and played his part in the strong second-half rally, scoring the eventual game-winning goal to cap a day that saw him earn SBI USMNT Man of the Match honors.
Corona was one of the team’s stabilizing forces in a shaky first half, then stepped his game up in the second half as the rest of the team elevated their game. Along with his beautiful go-ahead goal, Corona covered a ton of ground on the right side of the field, made key passes, and took the ball away from Cuban attackers.
Corona beat out a strong field of candidates for Man of the Match honors, including Kyle Beckerman, Chris Wondolowski and Landon Donovan.
Who was your pick for Man of the Match? Cast your vote after the jump:
- Joe Corona
- Kyle Beckerman
- Chris Wondolowski
- Landon Donovan
- Jose Torres
- Edgar Castillo
- Mix Diskerud
- Stuart Holden
Who did you vote for? What did you think of Corona’s game? What player surprised you the most?
Share your thoughts below.