New England Soccer Today

Player Ratings: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Chile

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the United States National Team players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Brian O’Connell and Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the USA’s 1-1 draw with Chile.

Nick Rimando – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Looked confident, distributed well in one half of action. Nice stop on Chile FK in 27′. (Brian) … Had little to do, but was confident commanding his box and well positioned to make saves when needed (Sean)

Zach Loyd – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Added some bite to the attack along the left. Good throw-ins. (Brian) … A bit reckless at times, even after earning an early yellow. Made some good, threatening runs forward. (Sean)

Omar Gonzalez – Average Rating: 4.5 (Brian 5, Sean 4)
Somewhat inconsistent, as the Chilean attack exploited the USA center backs. (Brian) … Had a few miscues in his one half of action and hardly looked the strong confident center back he is for the Los Angeles Galaxy. (Sean)

Tim Ream – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Looked average. Held his own fairly well. (Brian) … Communication and leadership between the center backs was an issue. Avoided the noticeable errors of Gonzalez and Wynne. (Sean)

Sean Franklin – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Could’ve done better to shut down the right. Mediocre performance. (Brian) … Made a good run forward and Chile’s best attacks came down the other flank. Committed a dangerous foul barely outside the box early. Good sliding clearance on one of Chile’s attacks. (Sean)

Jeff Larentowicz – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Distributed fairly well, but wasn’t the stopper we’ve come to know in MLS. (Brian) … Quite first half, but got more involved in the attack in the second half. Needed to impose himself on the game more like he does in MLS. (Sean)

Dax McCarty – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6.5, Sean 5.5)
Played poor-man’s Michael Bradley. A few mistakes, but overall good performance. (Brian) … Impressive shot from distance early. Kept the attack moving at times, but also had a few bad giveaways. (Sean)

Brek Shea – Average Rating: 4 (Brian 4, Sean 4)
Played somewhat better this time around, but still tries to do too much. (Brian) … Active getting forward, but seems to run out of ideas when he gets there. Giveaways ruined too many promising attacks. (Sean)

Mikkel Diskerud – Average Rating: 4.5 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4.5)
Failed to create space, seemed out of synch with teammates. (Brian) … Tried to do too much and failed to give Wondolowski the needed support. (Sean)

Alejandro BedoyaAverage Rating: 6 (Brian 6.5, Sean 5.5)
One of the best two-way players on the pitch. Menaced the Chilean midfield. (Brian) … Solid when he had the ball, just didn’t see enough of it. (Sean)

Chris Wondolowski – Average Rating: 4 (Brian 4, Sean 4)
Save for a single shot, his contribution to the attack was minimal. (Brian) … Decent turn and shot early, but otherwise didn’t see much of the ball. Clearly not ready to play as a lone striker. (Sean)

(sub) Sean Johnson – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5)
Little he could do on the Paredes goal. Played as well as could be expected. (Brian) … Nothing he could do on the goal, but had little to do otherwise. Commanded his box well.

(sub) Marvell Wynne – Average Rating: 3.75 (Brian 4, Sean 3.5)
Beaten on the Paredes goal, and often caught out of position. Pace saved him. (Brian) … Poor marking on the Paredes goal. Doesn’t look ready to play center back on the international stage. (Sean)

(sub) Juan Agudelo – Average Rating: 6.75 (Brian 6.5, Sean 7)
Added potency to the attack in second half; lucky to get the call on the penalty. (Brian) … Along with Bunbury helped spark the offense to life. Very active and confident in taking defenders on. (Sean)

(sub) Teal Bunbury – Average Rating: 7.5 (Brian 7.5, Sean 7.5)
Offense in a bottle.; confident, distributed well and attacked without hesitation. (Brian) … Confident finish on the penalty. Combined very well with Agudelo. (Sean)

(sub) Anthony Wallace – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5)
Didn’t have a ton of time to contribute, but looked OK in limited minutes. (Brian) … Wasn’t involved much after coming on. (Sean)

(sub) Eric AlexanderN/A
Too few minutes to register a ranking.

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