{"id":31201,"date":"2015-01-28T21:55:10","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T02:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=31201"},"modified":"2015-01-29T10:00:17","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T15:00:17","slug":"a-tale-of-two-performances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=31201","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Performances"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Photo credit: Chris Aduama\/aduamaphotography.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Jermaine Jones started at center back in a newly-instituted 3-5-2 formation, while Lee Nguyen came in at the start of the second half in the United States\u2019 3-2 loss to Chile at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua, Chile. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a closer look at how the Revolution\u2019s representatives fared in the U.S.\u2019s first match of 2015.<\/p>\n

-Well, it\u2019s safe to say that Jermaine Jones isn\u2019t going to make the 2018 World Cup roster by playing as a lone center back. To be fair, Jones has been a good soldier as coach Jurgen Klinsmann continues to experiment with the idea of assigning the Revolution midfielder to the center of the defense. At the same time, Jones performed about as well as one would expect for an attack-minded midfielder who\u2019s being asked to shoulder additional defensive duties. An obvious bout of miscommunication between him and Matt Besler essentially rolled out the red carpet for Roberto Gutierrez\u2019s opening goal for Chile in the 10th minute. It didn\u2019t get much better from there. Losing possession in the shadow of his area nearly opened the door for Diego Valdes, who rifled a shot that Nick Rimando adroitly denied. To cap the half, Jones was beaten in the air by Gutierrez on a goal that was disallowed by a suspect offside call. Oh, and he was handed the customary caution in 52nd minute for good measure.<\/p>\n