By RYAN TOLMICH
Jozy Altidore is set to embark on a new chapter in his club career, but on Wednesday in Chile he reminded us how productive he continues to be for the U.S. Men’s National Team.
The newly acquired Toronto FC forward scored a goal Wednesday, his third in four games, as the U.S. Men’s National Team dropped a 3-2 decision to Chile. Altidore was a consistent threat to the Chile defense in the first half, and his attacking performance was enough to earn the forward recognition as SBI USMNT Man of the Match.
Altidore’s finish came in the 31st minute and displayed that added boost of confidence that the 25-year-old forward always seems to bring out on the international level. After receiving a pass from Mix Diskerud in the center of the box, Altidore hit a well-struck shot just inside the far post to make the score 2-1. He also came close to drawing a penalty later in the first half, only to have the referee call a foul on the edge of the penalty area.
Altidore beat out wingback DeAndre Yedlin, goalkeeper Nick Rimando and centerback Steve Birnbaum for U.S. Man of the Match honors.
What did you think of Altidore’s performance against Chile? Who stood out to you in Wednesday’s action?
Share your thoughts below.
Yedlin was motm. I hate to say it but sloppy play by almost everyone, mix was ok shea susprised but then disappeared maybe new formation was the problem or mls just doesnt have enough talent cuz this was Chiles B team and we had alot.of world cup vets so very disappointing cant wait to get the A team together
How can a player who only performs half of his function and responsibilities be man of the match? Yedlin was not good on the defensive positioning and understanding of the wing position and seemed afraid to close down the players to prevent crosses. Excellent going forward though.
Terrible. Nuff said.
Perhaps rating Jozy as MotM is a case of projection.
We had a man of the match?
I hope the media talk about what that finish will do for jozy’s confidence. Now he can score goals that he’d never be able to score without confidence. Like the one he scored last night.
Also, no. No way was jozy man of the match. About as transparent a comment grab as that string of adu articles from last year.
Jozy scored a well-taken goal, fought hard all night long, actually won some aerial battles for a change, and played a really nice ball for Bradley when he rattled the frame in the 2nd half. The midfield was where the game was lost. Bradley, Jones, Trapp, everyone in the middle of the field in the 2nd half turned the ball over the moment they touched it. It was so bad that the broadcast couldn’t keep up with U.S. possession; by the time it kicked back from a replay, Chile was taking a throw-in or had reestablished control of the ball in midfield. Blaming Jozy is short-sighted; the worst player on the field was Jones, it has been a long, long time since I have seen a professional player that careless with the ball.
Agree with Altidore MOM. He looked sharp, considering his lack of playing time recently. Mix and Yedlin played their roles well on the buildup to Altidore’s goal, but that was not a “gimme finish”. He placed it perfectly, in the only spot he could, and didn’t hesitate. I also loved his aggressiveness and willingness to go at the defender on the play where he was taken down at the 18 (a criticism I’ve made of him before). He missed a couple of passes, but so did the others. And he was gassed so badly after 65 min, he became ineffective, but again, so was everyone else.
I think Altidore got a goal off the good work of Mix. Other than that, he was invisible except when he was turning over the ball. Even so, he was better than Dead Wood. MOTM? not really. Shea’s goal was better hand harder and neither of them did much else except kill any attack that got going
Has trolling taken over this site now? Or do friendlies just tend to pick up new people who have nothing to add but “player x sucks”?
jozy, um….by process of elimination, i guess? just finished watching the game, and really, no one on our side deserved motm. ryan, i’m pretty sure you could’ve just skipped this one.
I thought he played well, in the second half at any rate. He won more than his fair share of balls in the air that were wasted. His goal was very well taken. I can’t think of one player who had more influence on the game(in a positive manner) than Jozy. I think the Jozy hating posters here are far worse than any Jozy-bias coming from Ives and his minions. He doesnt play awful every game.
Jozy scored a goal, yeah. But MOTM? He’s so damn lazy. That drives me crazy the most. I coach both my boy’s teams and tell the is you lose the ball, you go get it back. Hustle. I she them Jozy when he doesn’t do that and it’s so often it’s laughable. He also doesn’t help defensively without the ball. If he worked harder he’d make a real impact.
Zardes looked very good, very active, like the anti-Jozy. I just hope JK has the ball to give a fair shot and more time.
I agree with others. Mix made the play on his goal, jozy finished it. Not mom for that. In the second half it was a tossup between Jozy or Shay to see which would turn over the ball and kill the attack.
I have to agree with most on the site that in no way did I think Jozy Altidore was man of the match. His goal was a nicely placed pass but the credit for it is due to the wonderful passes from Yedlin and especially Mix.
Yes, Jozy did track back way more than usual to help the defense and or is good that he got on the score sheet but he was guilty of coughing up the ball in the final third which led to a goal for Chile.
I actually thought he did not do a good job of holding the ball or winning 50/50 balls tonight, but I honestly feel that he never quite does that well.
Yedlin was MOTM in my opinion. He was all over the place and creating. Can you imagine how many goals Gonzo would’ve scored if there were two Brek Sheas out there?
I couldn’t disagree more!!! I thought that he was the worst player along with Wood and mlssoccer.com grades totally agree with that. He had so many terrible touches resulting in him losing the ball. He was totally outplayed in the last 30 minutes leading to 2 goals. The only positive was his role in Jozy’s goal.
I couldn’t disagree more!!! I thought that Yedlin along with Wood were the worst USA players. This is what grades from mlssoccer.com show as well. He had so many terrible heavy touches losing the ball as a result. He got outplayed in the last 25 minutes leading to 2 goals. The only positive that stood out was is role in Jozy’s goal.
You can argue Yedlin bore some responsibility for a few goals. On the winner he’s chasing his man, for example. I thought he had a nightmare.
Agreed. In a match that did not have many bright spots, I thought Yedlin stood out. He constantly surprises me. I keep expecting him to be the second coming of Marvell Wynne, a muscle type with blazing speed, but his touch and vision is surprising me (relatively speaking, of course).
In the first half when the team was finding Brek and Yedlin in deep, it was because Jozy was able to hold the ball and pass it back allowing the wings to overlap. Jozy allowed the formation to function. Is this worth MOTM? I don’t know. Nobody else really stands out.
Jozy had a very good first half, but he faded badly in the second, only his substitution saved him from making more bad turnovers like the one that led directly to Chile’s second goal.
I did not think anyone for the US had a great game. Besler might be the only player who looked fairly sharp consistently, but in the first half, he and Jones let an attacker occupy the space between them with neither adequately covering him (probably the reason for Chile’s first goal, but it could have resulted in more).
I hate to say it, but I think this was Rimando’s weakest game in a US jersey. Though his culpability in the goals is disputable (probably could’ve at least done better with his parry on the third), the real indictment was his inability to command the backline and alleviate the marking problems. Certainly, this would not have been easy, given it was an unprecedented and somewhat chaotic experiment in formation and personnel… but he appeared to be as confused (if not more) as anyone, and was hardly the vocal, confident presence that we have come to expect out of guys like Howard, Friedel, Keller, etc. I think I lost count of how many needless corners we conceded (Brek Shea may have set a record), mostly due to poor communication. Rimando has had a good series of performances previously, but this one may have been the clearest evidence that he lacks what it takes to really command the #1 shirt above the alternatives.
There will be better days, no doubt.
What’s missing from all the trolling comments – Altidore did a good job of tracking back and picking up defensive responsibilities in the new formation. He put in a lot of effort tonight.
Yep. Goal, hustled around alot, didn’t make many mistakes. And people know I often give him crap.
He got his goal and hustled his tail off. He didn’t make a ton of mistakes. A lot of what he’s blamed for in the second half was poor team possession, putting him in bad situations.
MOTM?! He did well but not that well. His poor pass started the attack for the 3rd goal.
MOTM? Wth?? Hahaha! What match were you watching?
MOTM? you lost all credibility. See first comment for an explanation. Just because he scored on a sweet pass he had a good game? please!
Altidore Pro/Con:
Pro: able to kick ball really, really hard. can overpower/turn bad defenders if they try to get around him. good at undercutting people when they jump for headers.
Con: can’t win aerial battle despite size. poor first touch. not really a good finisher. doesn’t work hard. doesn’t work smart (cutting off passing lanes, quick movements to deceive and cause hesitation). gives up on plays and then fouls. no breakaway speed.
3 goals in the last 4 international games. And he’s not a good finisher? really?
what a joke. epic trolling.
+1
Oh yeah, and zardes looked better in attack and midfield in limited time.
For all the things Altidore was supposed to do, with the excepting of scoring a goal, Zardes did better. Whether it’s winning the ball back, hustling to put pressure on defenders, winning the ball in the air, holding the ball up, and completing passes in the final third, Zardes looked more composed and more skilled, with significantly fewer minutes to show it.
Josy worked his behind off even tracking back 50-60 yards on multiple occassions to provide cover. I thought he was let down by Shea and by Dempsey not giving him options to lay the ball off to them.
looked good until it was time to actually do the only thing that matters, score
Ffs with this site and the jozy obsession. He was the third best player on his goal, and he balanced the universe by serving up a turnover in midfield that led straight to a goal.
Mix or Bradley for Mom take your pick.
To be fair, Jozy laid the ball off for the MB one time off the post. That pass showed some quality…
Mixx had a BAD game. Are you kidding? Bradley had an OK game.
Bradley?!? You are just as bad as the author with that pick. Bradley was a turnover machine. It amazes me how we can watch the same game and see it so differently.
1. Yedlin
2. The Birb
3. Rimando
Our midfield was pretty useless this game, with Mix being the best of the lot. But still they sucked as a whole.
Disagree with Rimando. His indecisive positioning allowed the second goal as he showed too much of the back post and didn’t force the scorer to opt for the near post where Rimando could have then the shot. His poor deflection or parry was right into danger instead of out for a corner and led directly to the third goal. His distribution was, for him, surpisingly adequate however. Shouldn’t be in there at his age he is not part of the plans going forward and is certainly not Man of the Match.
Right analysis. I’d pick Mix because of his involvement in the goal. Bradley had a decent game as well.
Good analysis. I’d pick Mix cause his involvement in the goal. Bradley had decent game though. He had to constantly be covering Yedlin out of position.
rather hyperbolic, that finish wasnt easy, it was a nice goal by him.
He can’t trap, can’t pass and enjoys standing while others try to make an impact. his sloppy play started the counter on the 3rd goal. I understand he is the best we have up top, but MOTM?
+1… some just have a hard on for Jozy Out-the-Door
+1… some just have a hard on for Jozy Out-the-Door…
+1… some just have a hard on for Jozy Out-the-Door…