USMNT player grades vs. Saudi Arabia: Not as bad as Japan, but World Cup success feels a world away

Total times read this article : 3

To say the United States men’s national team played better in the final friendly game prior to the World Cup than in the one before is like saying an Olympic high-jumper cleared a height of 6 feet.

Not a high bar at all. While the USMNT were awful against Japan, they managed to produce a merely mediocre performance Tuesday against Saudi Arabia.

Christian Pulisic and Matt Turner were the standout players for the United States, and while they didn’t have as many duds as four days prior, there were still far too many pedestrian performances.

So while the player grades are better than they were after last week’s game, but it’s tough to call it progress:

USMNT player grades vs. Saudi Arabia

Matt Turner (goalkeeper): 7

This was Turner’s 14th shutout in 20 appearances, and the majority of those have come in competitive games. He’s barely played when the games haven’t counted, in friendlies like this one. He’s made it obvious he should play when the games count most: in November at the World Cup, and maybe December if things go well. 

Turner stopped a sizzling shot in the game’s first minute and made a remarkable save in the 70th after a brutal giveaway by a defender in front of him. It’s the second game in a row where he was the difference between the USMNT and an unflattering score line.

DeAndre Yedlin (right back): 6

Yedlin delivered a key block on a first-half scramble that could have put the U.S. behind, and he blocked a dangerous cross that forced the Saudis to instead try a corner kick. On the next play, he blocked another at short range and managed to get it over the sideline for a throw. He did the whole job defensively.

Yedlin made a strong move down the right side that drew what would have been a red-card foul in a serious game. He several times had trouble connecting on give-and-go moves with teammates on the right wing.

Walker Zimmerman (central defender): 6

As solid defensively as usual, he was called on more than ever to make long passes in an attempt to get behind Saudi Arabia’s high back line. That only occasionally had the desired effect of creating plays that threatened the Saudi goal, although a couple of those were the fault of forwards who failed to stay onside.

He had one huge block, in the 79th minute, to help give Turner a break.

Aaron Long (central defender): 5

Maybe the best thing we can say about Long is that he hardly was noticed. It was Zimmerman who was doing most of the passing out of the back, and the biggest defensive plays beyond Long’s block in the 3rd minute were the work of others. 

There were reasons to wonder why Long would start this game after playing poorly against Japan, but the simple truth is too much of the defensive group is injured (Chris Richards, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Miles Robinson) or not included (John Brooks, Tim Ream). Long was the best option of a lean group. 

Sergino Dest (left back): 6

For a player performing out of position, across the field from his normal spot, Dest performed at least solidly and occasionally showed flair. He looked really good tucking in from the left on a move where he attempted to combine with Christian Pulisic in the 18th minute. He drew a foul that set up a promising free kick on a move to the left corner in the 27th minute. The Saudis tilted their defense to this side after Gio Reyna left the game, and there were fewer opportunities after halftime.

Tyler Adams (defensive midfielder): 6

He was far too conservative as the ball moved through the middle, including his back pass in the 16th minute that led to a turnover to the Saudis. In the 69th minute, there was an opposing pass struck directly toward Adams, and instead of using this to ignite a move, he gave the ball right back.

Still, he had good moments as nobody else in midfield was able to progress the ball. His best moment was a solid strike from above the top of the box that just soared just past the left post in the 24th minute.

Weston McKennie (midfielder): 5

After some early sizzle, McKennie became less visible in the game. 

He had a chance in the 9th minute off one of Zimmerman’s best long passes, but his shot from the top of the box wasn’t struck with enough emphasis.

Kellyn Acosta (midfielder): 3

The USMNT has struggled so terribly to be dangerous with free kicks they recently hired a specialist to help coach this area of the game. The one exception has been Acosta, whose three beauties in the icy cold of a Saint Paul February night helped advance the team to the World Cup.

So who took the free kicks in this game? Gio Reyna, Christian Pulisic, Brendan Aaronson. Huh? All of them looked at least a little better than the U.S. typically has in the past year, but why play Acosta and then not allow him to do what he does best? 

At this level, he’s someone who can help a leading team see off a game, or he’s someone who can make a difference with exceptional free kicks. He’s not a starter. Luca de la Torre was lousy against Japan. But if everyone who was got benched, the Americans would have had 10 new starters in this game.

As he did not get the chance on set pieces, Acosta’s most obvious action was a sloppy foul from behind in the 27th minute that set up one of the Saudis’ best scoring chances.

Gio Reyna (forward): 5

He drew a foul to set up a chance in the 17th minute, and the corners he took were better than the USMNT average. But his departure after 30 minutes to be extra careful over some muscle tightness became a worrying issue.

Ricardo Pepi (striker): 4

It says much about his performance that Pepi’s best moment came on a beautiful steal he pulled off 11 minutes into the game. That play happened 15 yards into the defensive half of the field. 

He got almost no service from his teammates in or near the box, and he seemed an odd fit for the scheme that involved trying to fire long balls over the Saudi back line. He’s not slow, but he’s not Usain Bolt.

This was his chance to make a positive impact after a series of unproductive USMNT performances. It didn’t happen. Replacing him in the 59th minute seemed unnecessary at the time, and that turned out to be the case.

Christian Pulisic (forward): 6

The first half was a showcase for Pulisic. He harassed the opposition along the left sideline and sneaked into the middle to seek out opportunities. He did hold onto the ball a couple of times, searching for his own shot when passes were available. He had a chance to score on a header in the 17th minute but headed the ball to the near post and missed wide; an attempt to the far post might have led to some havoc or even a goal. A beautiful touch on the side as part of a give-and-go with McKennie drew a corner kick.

It wasn’t his last, but the Saudis stacked their D on his side in the second half, and his influence dwindled.

Paul Arriola (forward): 5

His biggest contribution was saving the shutout in the 34th minute on a great, essential clearance. That alone might have warranted a high grade, but he had chances to connect in the second half – and once even to score – that were misspent on sloppy execution. When Jesus Ferreira slipped a pass through at the top of the box to leave him one-on-one with the keeper, Arriola shot too quickly and haphazardly and blasted it well outside the goal.

Joe Scally (right back): 6

This was a much more self-assured performance than when he started against Morocco in June. He was  obviously uncomfortable in this one, but he was solid at both ends against Saudi Arabia and was quite close to generating a couple of serious opportunities.

Jesus Ferreira (striker): 5

It was surprising Ferreira’s entry in the 59th minute was preferred to leaving on Pepi or giving Josh Sargent a bit more of a look, but Berhalter said he believed Ferreira gave the team a better chance to create a game-winner.

Well, he was involved in two great chances. But did he make the best play on the first of those? Arriola got the ball to Ferreira after a terrible Saudi turnover in the midfield. Ferreira fired a hard, stinging shot – but right at the keeper. If he’d glanced to his left, he’d have seen Pulisic arriving into the box unguarded. A simple feed would have meant the team’s most accomplished player having an uncovered shot. 

Mark McKenzie (central defender): 2

No matter what system a team is playing, no center back can give the ball away so often and casually as McKenzie did in what was basically a half-hour appearance. His turnover in the 70th minute provided the Saudis a great chance to break the scoreless tie. If the USMNT winds up having to dig this far into its depth chart, the player it pulls out should be someone like Ream.

Brenden Aaronson (midfielder): 4

One thing left undone in this camp was getting Aaronson some gametime with the forwards. He started in midfield against Japan. That made sense, with Yunus Musah out. But with Tim Weah’s injury status still uncertain and Reyna always iffy because of his struggle to stay healthy, Aaronson would have been of much greater use in this game trying to create closer to the goal. Maybe Berhalter figured the forwards weren’t getting the ball enough, anyway. But maybe Aaronson’s decisions, on the rare occasions that happened, would have been better.

Malik Tillman (forward): 4

He couldn’t find a way to create opportunities.

Facebook Comments Box

Hits: 0

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR