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After more than nine months of inactivity, the United States Men’s National Team returned to the pitch with a very green squad which performed admirably in a scoreless draw in Wales.
The kids’ squeeze play had them almost dominant in the opening frame, with only a little immaturity in the final third holding them back. They looked a lot more pedestrian after half time which shaved the hairs off the marks you see below.
US player ratings
Zack Steffen (6.5) – On the plus side, his stoppage just past the hour was the biggest part of the game. On the other hand, we saw another misguided distribution that could have gone terribly wrong.
Sergiño Dest (7) – Barcelona’s near-constant right-back push down the flank repeatedly put Wales in tough spots, and two of their deliveries into the box deserved a better pursuit.
Matt Miazga (7) – While the Anderlecht man skillfully handled all of the arrivals from the USA’s third defensive end, what caught the most attention of Miazga’s exit was arguably his best night of fainting in an American jersey. He wasn’t breaking the lines, he was erasing them altogether.
John Brooks (6) – Miazga’s partner also passed positively, as you’d expect him to, and made some nice interventions around the American area in the second half. However, he was also burned a few risky steps in the midfield.
Antonee Robinson (5.5) – The young left-back had his defensive moments but a poor follow-up gave Wales their best chance of the night. Robinson was functional without ever finding a place for one of his beautiful crosses.
Tyler Adams (7) – RB Leipzig goalkeeper had intervened regularly to put an end to any Welsh idea of a gut rush, especially in the first half. Adams has also shown maturity in his transition passing game a few times.
Weston McKennie (6.5) – It was a great first half from the Juventus midfielder. McKennie was regularly available for the ball, and while not all of his passes came off, he led the game and served the night’s best low cross. His rating dropped a shade after the break, when he continued to deploy widely, which is not his strength.
Yunus Musah (6.5) – The teenage newbie impressed enough that it is easy to see the possibilities of his talent. Musah excelled as a quick lead down the middle, both on the dribble and with quick passing decisions, and was a nagging nuisance when it came to retrieving the ball. He also found good positions in attack, but missed a few lines.
Highlights: Wales 0, USA 0
Giovanni Reyna (5) – Another teenager getting his first cap, Reyna was a bit disappointing that night. Whenever he had the ball, his “processing speed” was unusually slow. This caused him to get his pocket plucked from behind more than you would like and prevented him from finding a deadly pass in the Wales area.
Sébastien Lletget (5) Horribly misinterpreted as a center forward, Lletget looked like a horribly ill-chosen guy as a center forward. A suitable striker would probably have demonstrated more killer instinct on a few crosses in the currency area. There’s not much to say, but it did make a few tempting reboots.
Konrad de la Fuente (4,5) – To me, the teenager just doesn’t seem like he’s ready for this level. The Barcelona prospect have never challenged defenders and he shot wildly when he received a gift of golden luck.
Coach Gregg Berhalter (5.5) – Let’s start with the good stuff. Despite a very inexperienced team that needed a lot of pre-game introductions, they came out performing both the press and the resulting quick-build game as if it was a familiar routine. It is not an easy thing to do, and Berhalter deserves congratulations on this point.
In contrast, few things bite my gears more than ruining the lineup by going without a true center-forward when three of them are available. And the fact that the boss kept Lletget in the lead until the 79th minute, when that obviously hampered a game plan that looked good until it was time to strike, is downright annoying. Big red mark for that. Let’s not start over.
Substitutes
Johnny Cardoso (6) – While a few passes could have been smarter, the newbie in the defensive midfield quickly showed he had mastered his primary function. A “stick in the rays” beat Wales at the door of the American zone, then committed a choice professional misconduct to cut short a potential counter.
Ulysses Llanez (6) – The young winger wasted no time chasing a goal, forcing a decent save with long-range training. Other than that, not much to report from his 19 minutes.
Timothy Weah (-) – Working 11 minutes will usually give a grade here, but Weah never had an offensive touch. His biggest impact has been stalking to harass a Welsh ball carrier.
Nicolas Gioacchini (-) – See Weah above.
Owen Otawosie (-) – A simple cameo for the early teenage midfielder.
Reggie Cannon (-) – In just three minutes, Boavista’s right-back was more involved than the three guys directly above him combined. As you can imagine, he looked solid.
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