There weren’t a lot of positives from this performance for the U.S.
3 min read
The United States men’s national team put together an underwhelming performance on Sunday, losing 1-0 at Panama in World Cup qualifying. The loss is the team’s first in this cycle and raises serious questions about this team’s consistency and ability to get to next year’s World Cup. While the team is still in solid position to qualify, it puts even more pressure on next week’s clash with surging Costa Rica.
After the match from Panama, here are our player ratings.
USMNT player ratings
|
(GK) Matt Turner |
90 | Made one great save in the first half but couldn’t do anything on the goal. Had some shaky moments with the ball at his feet. But, for the most part, he did his job just fine. |
6 |
|
(DEF) George Bello |
90 | Didn’t have a whole lot to worry about in defense, but the hustle was there. He was always willing to sacrifice his body and showed off a nifty touch. Also led the team in interceptions. |
5 |
|
(DEF) Walker Zimmerman |
90 | Did a solid job clearing the ball and always felt like the most confident guy in defense despite not having to deal with too much danger. |
5 |
|
(DEF) Mark McKenzie |
90 | A little sloppy at times and won just 11 percent of his duels. Did clear it well but had issues in the air. | 4 |
|
(DEF) Shaq Moore |
68 | In his WCQ debut, he did everything to play box to box and had his moments. His hustle to get into position defensively was important with just how many numbers Panama got forward. | 5.5 |
|
(MID) Kellyn Acosta |
90 | Did a bit of everything defensively but could do nothing in the air. Completed just 75 percent of his passing, which is concerning for his position. | 4 |
|
(MID) Sebastian Lletget |
90 | Solid on the ball to play accurately to his teammates but never got into position to pose much of a threat going forward. Was disconnected at times due to a lack of service. | 4 |
|
(MID) Yunus Musah |
45 | Was kind of alone in the middle and couldn’t get into space and cause any danger. Also looked as if he was a step slow, perhaps dealing with a knock. Came off at the break. | 4 |
|
(FWD) Tim Weah |
68 | After looking so good against Jamaica, he just couldn’t get going here and was taken off in the second half. He rarely got played into space to try and work his magic, but it wasn’t his fault. | 5 |
|
(FWD) Gyasi Zardes |
67 | Offered very little in attack, but to be fair the service wasn’t there. His runs weren’t all that great though, and he knocked the ball into his own goal. Rough. | 3 |
|
(FWD) Paul Arriola |
45 | Earned back-to-back starts but was taken off at the break after being hardly involved. Work rate, as usual, was encouraging. | 5 |
|
Tyler Adams (46′) |
Musah | Came on to give some stability to the middle, but there was just such a lack of connection that he could hardly make a difference. | 5 |
|
Brenden Aaronson (46′) |
Arriola | Nice to see him get an entire half, but it felt like he spent more time chasing back to recover the ball. | 5 |
| Ricardo Pepi (67′) | Zardes | Came on and instantly was a threat with a shot from inside the box. It was his only look though. | 5 |
| DeAndre Yedlin (68′) | Moore | Don’t get this move all that much aside from Yedlin adding a dimension going forward on the wing. It didn’t work. | 4 |
| Christian Roldan (68′) | Weah | Don’t get this one at all. This was almost like conceding the match in a sense. Perhaps it was his scoring form for Seattle that convinced the coach. | 4 |
|
Gregg Berhalter |
5 | Horrendous result. The team looked anything but united. Can’t blame the pitch or the atmosphere. It was sloppy and it lacked sharpness. It was nice to see him make changes early, they just weren’t the right ones. | 3 |
