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The US national team effectively helped England celebrate Wayne Rooney’s final cap by rolling over early on the way to a disappointing 3-0 friendly defeat at Wembley on Thursday night.
The visitors conceded twice during a difficult opening phase to the contest, and it could have been worse. While the US did raise their game a little near halftime, and then again even more so for much of the second half, they were always a clear second-best in a match that will go down as another tough lesson for a young squad.
Brad Guzan (5.5) – It would be rather harsh to fault the US netminder much on any of the goals, but Guzan did have to stare down a great England chance because of a major distribution flub. He made a decent late stop on Rooney, but his best stop was actually wiped away by an offside flag.
DeAndre Yedlin (4) – Throw another poor USMNT showing on the growing pile. By this point, Yedlin should not be so easy to burn on the overlap. He should not be slow to close down a crosser, as happened on England’s third. The right back did push up the flank to offer an important outlet after halftime, which helped the visitors get out of their end much more consistently, but these forays didn’t actually create any offense. He no long takes defenders on the dribble and his crossing game has actually devolved. His lineup place should no longer be a foregone conclusion.
Matt Miazga (5) – The No. 3 shirt was easily the best US pbader out of the back on this night and he was the only one providing emergency defense prior to halftime. Miazga also pitched in with a strong area shot block late, but was badly beaten on the dribble on a few second half occasions.
John Anthony Brooks (3) – The Wolfsburg defender was sub-par during the opening half hour, when he repeatedly failed to pick up midfield runners into the box. Brooks generally improved from there, but still suffered a couple of major second half hiccups. He got away with being beat over the top just after intermission, but was burned for letting Callum Wilson get loose for the capper. His typically impressive through-the-lines and long switch pbading game only showed itself on rare instances over this head-scratcher of a shift.
Jorge Villafaña (4.5) – Aside from one early advance, the US left back never caused trouble going forward. Villafaña also had some major defensive struggles in the opening phase, but he solidified that area of his game from there.
Wil Trapp (3.5) – Aside from one notable tackle that set up a good US rush, the Columbus midfielder remains far too easy to get past up the gut. When the US started enjoying more of the ball, Trapp did have a few quality moments with traffic-direction pbading. Bottom line: He’s still obviously the wrong guy to field when the opponent is expected to hold a sizable possession advantage.
Weston McKennie (5) – The Schalke youngster had some first half issues slowing England down through midfield, but not nearly as many as Trapp and he did recover to make some helpful stops around the US area. McKennie had a letdown first half in the pressure valve department, but picked up measurably in that area after the break.
Julian Green (3.5) – From the standpoints of decision-making on the ball and defensive work rate, Green is simply not suited to play in the middle at this level. While he did test the England ‘keeper with a long-range shot, that US rush would have been better served by picking the right pbad to one of the three break runners available.
Timothy Weah (3.5) – When it’s possible to unleash Weah down the wing, he becomes a scary-ish weapon. But, boy, does he need to make a much bigger effort to help his fullback defensively. The second England goal never happens if he just tracks the opposing wide back.
Christian Pulisic (5) – Yes, his persistence resulted in the best US chance of the night (which saw him robbed by Jordan Pickford) and he is clearly the US player most comfy while toting the ball in or into the final third. And yet, Pulisic so often disappointed on this night, largely due to a case of “trying to do too much alone” disease. In a way, with this group, it’s almost understandable. What’s not understandable, is failing to mark a wide open and nearby Jaden Sancho on England’s first goal.
Bobby Wood (2) – Unfortunately, the striker’s outing was almost entirely empty. Wood was repeatedly offside on decent lead balls, rarely pulled England defenders out of position, couldn’t find tempting loose balls in the England area, failed to complete a single positive pbad or win any free kicks and blew the one big chance he had by nodding over from a great position. He often comes up big against top opponents, but this just wasn’t his night.
Coach Dave Sarachan (4) – Though I still find it unseemly to go full Siskel on what amounts to a lame-duck boss headed for the door, there’s no getting around the fact that his ultra-conservative starting game plan was a big mistake. The USMNT were set up to be under the cosh from the get-go and never fully recovered from that opening 30-35 minutes. Sarachan’s adjustments helped to a noticeable extent, but not enough.
Subs:
Tyler Adams (7) – The Red Bulls ace was the only US player that fully understood what needed to be done against this foe. Adams stepped into lanes, harbaded ball carriers and jumped forward to support the attack when each play was necessary. The team looked far more in tune after he came on (which, admittedly, is a low bar), and I can’t help but wonder how the game would have unfolded with him out there from the start.
Kellyn Acosta (3) – After coming on for Trapp, Acosta did no better at dissuading England from running up the middle. He also needs to show to the ball much more when playing this position. His connection to the back line when the US gained possession deep was intermittent at best.
Sebastian Lletget (5) – The LA Galaxy midfielder looked oddly timid on the ball.
Kenny Saief (5) – The late attack sub offered a couple of nice build touches, but was apparently hit by a stage-fright attack when presented with the chance to author a dangerous two-v-two counter.
Shaq Moore (6) – On this night, a couple of decent defensive plays in five minutes of action earns you an average grade.
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