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USMNT 1, Honduras 1: SBI Player Grades

Soccer: Friendly-USA vs Honduras

Photo by Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports
 

By FRANCO PANIZO

The U.S. Men’s National Team’s night was ruined by a late goal, but there were still plenty of positives for head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to draw from.

The U.S. and Honduras played to a 1-1 draw after Maynor Figueroa scored an 86th-minute equalizer on Tuesday night at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida. The goal forced the Americans to settle for a tie for the second straight match, but it was not enough to overshadow some of the better individual performances put forth by U.S. players.

From Mix Diskerud to Greg Garza to Timmy Chandler, there was plenty of promise shown against the Hondurans. But there were also some mixed outings, as evidenced by Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley’s shifts in the CONCACAF affair.

Here is a look at how all the Americans performed on Tuesday against Honduras:

USMNT 1, Honduras 1: SBI PLAYER GRADES

Nick Rimando – 5.5. Made all the saves he needed to make, and played the ball quickly out of the back. Had one unusual bad pass that led to one of Honduras’ best scoring chances in the first half.

Timmy Chandler – 6. Chandler was constantly getting involved in the attack and held his own when defending, but his crosses could have been better.

Jermaine Jones – 5.5. The experiment at centerback was essentially flawless until Jones appeared to lose Figueroa on the late set-piece equalizer. That was the one bad mark in a game in which Jones showed well defensively, helped to build out of the back, and demonstrated his underrated speed off the ball. Stronger opponents and busier nights await, however.

Matt Besler – 6. Sturdy at the back and accurate with his passes, Besler did not look at all uncomfortable next to Jones. He was not overly tested, but held up when he was.

Greg Garza – 7. A standout performance that made it tough to believe that this was his third U.S. appearance. Garza was lights out defensively and at times joined in on the attack. A very strong showing at a position that has made for many headaches in years past.

Mix Diskerud – 5.5. Playing in a more defensive and withdrawn role than usual, Diskerud chased the game a bit more than he normally does. He did play the ball quickly and showed promise once again but conceded the unnecessary foul that led to Figueroa’s equalizer.

Michael Bradley – 5. A sublime pass from Bradley helped open the scoring and then things got a little sloppy. He helped dictate the tempo and was active in looking for the ball and receiving it, but a number of his passes were off the mark, including a rare one that went directly to the opposition.

Graham Zusi – 4.5. Definitely not his best night in a U.S. jersey. Zusi worked hard to provide an outlet for teammates and track back, but was not very sharp with the ball when it came his way.

Clint Dempsey – 6. Was one of the more active players in the first half, getting on the ball constantly and connecting passes with teammates. He did not see as much of the ball in the second half when Honduras began to apply pressure, and faded before coming off.

Alejandro Bedoya – 6.5. Bedoya worked his tail off on both sides of the ball, breaking up plays on one end and trying to interchange passes on the other. A solid, more well-rounded showing after having to play more defensively vs. Ecuador.

Jozy Altidore – 5.5. After mis-hitting a pass on a good-looking attack early on, Altidore responded by scoring a well-taken goal in the 10th minute. From there, he hustled and made tireless runs but could not get the type of service that has seen him thrive in the past.

Tim Ream – 6. Came into the game amidst a number of substitutions and had no trouble settling in next to Jones. Ream looked good defensively and his passing was sharp.

Bobby Wood – 4.5. Looks to still be adjusting to the speed and physicality of the international game, as he again found it tough to do much up top and missed a chance wide that he probably should’ve put on frame.

DeAndre Yedlin – 5. While his speed caused problems for Honduras, his touches were off. Yedlin did get into good positions playing once again as the right midfielder, though.

Alfredo Morales – 5.5. The FC Ingolstadt midfielder provided some fresh legs and defensive bite off the bench at a time when Honduras was on the attack. Still, he didn’t make a huge impact.

Joe Corona – 5. Brought energy, connected some passes and drew a few fouls, but Honduras were the team on the front foot by the time Corona came in and his effectiveness was limited.

Miguel Ibarra – N/R. Earned his U.S. Men’s National Team debut with a substitute cameo in the 90th minute, but it was too late in the game for him to make an impact.

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What did you think of the individual performances in the USMNT’s victory vs. Honduras? Agree with these grades? Which players do you feel are rated too high or too low?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I liked Garza a lot. He’s technical and tough. I always thought he might be just a tad slow for outside back, but I didn’t really see that. I was really impressed with his overall game. He’s very comfortable on the ball up field…good combo player, he gets it. Looking forward to seeing more games with him at LB.

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  2. it does lead me to wonder, how so many people, can have such a different take on the game. I think for Dempsey, he is lazy. Doesn’t track back, flops, protests way too much. Garza was good, but not as good as the previous game.

    Altidore, more than a 5.5, a goal, should give someone at least a 6.

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  3. Okay, I’m usually pretty tolerant on these game grades (different people look for different things when watching players), but this article seems to be just putting stupid out there on a pedestal in an attempt to inspire counter comments – which as my post shows, might just work.

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  4. Don’t understand why Chandler consistently gets high ratings here. Yes, he’s active and gets forward, but nothing ever happens — he either loses the ball or crosses to no one. On defense, he’s very poor. Almost all of those last-ditch tackles made by Jones were on the right side of defense, where Chandler should’ve been, but was either too tired or too lazy to get back after his useless offensive forays.

    In the Ecuador match, Chandler made a couple of horrible defensive mistakes, yet still got high grades.

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    • Opta disagrees with you completely regarding defense. Chandler’s issue was getting forward, but not having the final pass or cross, and then being out of position. usually because him and Zusi didn’t communicate properly. but i also don’t think a 6 is a high grade. the average rating here is 5.6 and he scored a 6. so he was 0.4 over average. in other words, average.

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  5. Funny how the guy who scored had a lower rating than the guy who contributed to giving up the goal (mix)….. Jones WAS marking Figueroa. Garza had the guy farthest wide left and jones was supposed to stay with Figueroa. It’s quite obvious. U have to watch the set up before it was kicked. Once the balls in the box it looks as if jones wasn’t opposed to mark him but watch them as they break out as the balls kicked. Jones’ man

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  6. Personally I think we need more out of Bedoya then these, solid defensive efforts. He just doesn’t give enough going forward for a midfielder and 6.5 is too high.

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  7. IMO, all of these ratings are 1-2 points high, except for Altidore, who I thought was a 6. Overall, poor ball control gave Honduras way too much possession, and we didn’t move the ball fast enough to break them down. Zusi had an awful game–the worst I’ve ever seen from him. Despite the assist, Bradley is completely out of sorts at the moment. He’s thinking too slowly when he has the ball, and he’s defaulting to the nearest CB too often. Garza was certainly a bright spot. I wonder if what he would have brought to the table in Brazil had he received an opportunity.

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  8. Chandler higher than Jones? And Jones only a 5.5? Jones was possibly the MOTM and worthy of a solid 7 rating, even despite his blunder that accounted for the Honduras goal. He made several crucial tackles and commanded the box well. What more could you want? And barely above a 5? Sheesh!

    The only ratings I agree on are Zusi, Wood, and Garza. Zusi and Wood were atrocious. Garza can ball.

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    • He was making those tackles because he was getting caught out. Generally, when you see last-ditch tackles by a center back it’s because they made a mistake.

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      • whoa whoa whoa. Jones was making those tackles because his RB was nowhere to be found on those plays and the RM was not covering well. when that happens, it makes the CB have to push out wide and close them down. otherwise they just walk right into the middle.

    • Jones didn’t commit a blunder on the goal. Look at the highlights. He was marking a different player than the one who scored. Nobody was marking the guy that scored. In fact, we had six defenders marking seven guys, somebody was going to be open. It was a team blunder, Jones just happened to be the closest guy.

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  9. I’m sorry, disagree on a few…

    1. Dempsey was next to useless. He had a couple decent flicks, but mostly disinterested and a black hole…

    2. Jones was just as good as Besler, if not better. He played some nice balls on the ground to get things going, and the goal was not all on him. Watch it back. Ream was guarding no one.

    3. Ream, see Jones’ comments.

    4. Corona had no impact, let alone limited.

    Okay, i’m done.

    Reply

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