The USMNT played Serbia to a 0-0 draw in San Diego on Sunday. Here are some of the takeaways and ratings for each player who took part.
The USMNT faced Serbia on a sunny Sunday afternoon in San Diego for their first game of this year’s January camp. Worth noting, it was also Bruce Arena’s first game back as the USMNT coach.
Throughout much of the first half, the USA looked like the better team. They had the majority of possession and looked pretty dangerous. The USA also created a few chances down the left through Darlington Nagbe. Two such attacks ended with far-post efforts from Nagbe that beat the keeper but went just wide of the mark.
In the beginning of second half, the USA also enjoyed possession. Around the 65th minute, however, a number of substitutions began to break up the game and destroy some of the flow and chemistry, resulting in Serbia taking the front food.
Their best chance came in the last couple minutes when they hit a man on a through ball down the left side. Nick Rimando pushed away the shot and kept his shutout in the end. The highlights can be found here.
The game was only a friendly between two teams that were not fielding their “A” squad, so the final score of 0-0 is not nearly as important as how the players actually played. This was one of the games where every guy out there was trying to prove to Arena that he deserved playing time in the important qualifiers coming up in March. Without further ado, here’s how each guy looked out there:
Player Ratings
GK: Nick Rimando (6)
Rimando didn’t have much to do all day, so it is hard to give him a very high rating. He was really only forced to make one save which came at the end of the game, and he honestly would have been pretty disappointed and embarrassed if he had gotten beat by that shot.
RB: Graham Zusi (7)
This was the first game Zusi had ever played right back, and he looked pretty good. He was able to get up the field and help the offense by adding width and look to hit crosses. There were a few times where he got caught up or looked out of position, but he often had Bedoya or Pontius covering for him, so it was okay. On the defensive side, he was never really tested, so we still don’t know if he can actually defend like a right back.
CB: Steve Birnbaum (6)
Birnbaum didn’t have a bad game. His number just wasn’t called much. He did a pretty good job on the defensive end even though he wasn’t tested much. The only concerning thing was that Serbia looked a little dangerous on crosses and he is supposed to be an arial specialist.
CB: Chad Marshal (6)
Like Birnbaum, the 32-year-old was never really tested, but he got the job done and kept the shutout. He did not really do much to lower or raise his stock out there.
LB: Greg Garza (6)
Garza was playing his first game back in a USA jersey after not suiting up for a couple years. Like the two before him, he did not do much to improve or hurt his stock. He played solid defense and came up on the attack when he could. He also looked a little slow on the flank from time-to-time, and he struggled to really link up with the other guys on that attack. Overall, he had a pretty average game.
CDM: Michael Bradley (7.5)
One of the biggest things to notice about his game today was that he actually looked comfortable out there, something that was not the case under JK. He played the true number 6 role and spent most of the game just sitting in front of the defense. More importantly, he avoided having any bad turnovers and successfully completed most of his passes, including the one that set of Nagbe for his first scoring chance.
CDM: Jermaine Jones (6)
Jermaine brought the type of game we are used to from him. He was all over the field and brought a lot of high energy. In the end, I would have liked to see a little better passing from him, and he took a few shots that I would put in the category of “ambitious.”
RM: Alejandro Bedoya (5)
As one of the “A” squad players, I expected Bedoya to have a bit more of an impact. He had one good run down the right side after Jones had earned a turnover in the attacking third, but even that got a little wasted. After that, the ball tended to find its way over to the left with Nagbe, leaving Bedoya quiet until he was subbed out in the second half.
CAM: Sacha Kjiestan (6.5)
Kjiestan came out and started very well. He provided some good link up play in the midfield and looked ready to put his mark on the game. Then he hit a great free kick opportunity right into the center of the wall and grew a little quiet. He ended up playing a pretty average game.
LM: Darlington Nagbe (8.5)
There was not much Nagbe did wrong the whole day. He kept possession, looked dangerous, and more or less had his way parading down the left flank. All game he looked dangerous and found the ball at his feet inside the box a number of times. Unfortunately, his inability to turn those chances into goals is the only thing keeping him at an 8.5.
ST: Jozy Altidore (5)
In his 100th cap Jozy was fairly quiet. He showed some hustle, did some hold-up play, and showed a little fire at the ref. These are all things we expect to see from Altidore, but he didn’t take over the game offensively like he is capable of and as we saw in the 2016 playoffs.
Sub: Sebastian Lletget (7.5) in for Jones at 46′
Lletget came in for Jones to start the second half and immediately had an impact. He fought off multiple defenders to keep possession early in the second half, linked up with a number of guys, and even had a dangerous cross to Kjiestan that was headed just wide. He did grow a little quiet in the latter stage of the game, but he worked well in the center with Bradley. His quiet end and only 45 minutes of game time are the only things keeping him from an even higher score.
Sub: Chris Pontius (4) in for Bedoya at 65′
Pontius, like Bedoya, failed to really make an impact down the right side. He did a good job covering back for Zusi once, but he also missed a great opportunity late in the game by not even putting the shot on frame. Overall, I was not impressed by his 25 minutes.
Sub: Jorge Villafana (5) in for Garza at 69′
Villafana received his first cap for the USMNT in the game, but he was not overly impressive. Shortly after coming on, he was beat down the left side. Other than that, not much really happened with him good or bad.
Sub: Jordan Morris (6.5) in for Altidore at 74′
Jordan did a good job of getting the ball, but he struggled to do too much with it. His speed did end up putting the defense on their heels a bit . His best play came when he was got the ball in a fairly dangerous position on the right side of the box, but his cross was ultimately blocked.
Sub: Benny Feilhaber (N/A) in for Kjiestan at 77′
It was nice to see Feilhaber back in the USA jersey, but he did not really get enough time to do much.
Sub: Juan Agudelo (N/A) in for Nagbe at 87′
Though he only got a couple minutes, Agudelo did show some of his skill when he beat a few defenders in the box only to come up one defender short of getting a wide open look at goal.
Next: The MLS Weekend Transfer Review
Reaction
The biggest winners from Sunday’s game were Nagbe and Lletget. Both players came out on to the field with something to prove. They both played very well in possession and showed some signs of danger in the offensive third. Nagbe may get some time in the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers on the wing opposite Christian Pulisic if Fabian Johnson is moved to LB. Lletget may also see his chemistry with Bradley pay off because Jermaine Jones is suspended against Honduras, so Bradley will need a new partner in the midfield.
On another note, the Zusi to RB move is still not conclusive. He played well enough to show that he can be positioned there for games in which the USA will not be under siege, allowing him to join the attack. Hopefully he can get tested defensively to see if he really belongs there.
Looking forward to the next game against Jamaica on Friday, it will be interesting to see how Arena rotates the squad. He will want to get some of the other guys playing time, but he may want to see more of the Bradley-Lletget combo or Nagbe on the wing.
Do you agree withe my ratings? Have any other reactions or things that stuck out? Let me know in the comments section.