Player Ratings: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Antigua & Barbuda

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 Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the USA’s 3-1 win over Antigua & Barbuda.

Tim Howard – 5.5

Beaten near post on the Byers goal. Made one important save on an otherwise easy night. Distribution, for the most part, was good.

Jose Torres – 5

Played out of position at left back, Torres took the opportunity to get forward against mostly non-threatening opposition, with varying success before leaving injured. Caught out of position on Antigua’s quick restart/first half chance.

Carlos Bocanegra – 7

Good job following Gomez’s shot on the early corner  to get the goal. Easy night defensively, for the most part, but did well passing out of the back and looked strong getting forward after switching to left back in the second half.

Clarence Goodson – 6

Did what was asked on a relatively easy night. Covered for Cherundolo when the right back pushed forward.

Steve Cherundolo – 5.5

Took advantage of weak opposition to push forward much more than he had the past two games and put in some decent crosses.

Maurice Edu – 4.5

A step slow at times and a couple of errors led to rare Antigua chances. Surprisingly limited involvement in the attack considering the opponent.

Jermaine Jones – 5

A few nice passes to spring attacks, but had the worst passing percentage (and most misplayed passes) of any starter outside of Donovan. Wasted a decent opportunity with a quick, poor shot off target and lucky to avoid a yellow card.

Michael Bradley – 6

A couple of uncharacteristically poor passes, but made several key plays in the attack, threatened to score from long distance and created a nice chance for himself off a short corner kick. Blocked shot led to Gomez’s goal.

Landon Donovan – 6.5

Quality runs, quality service, and quality set pieces. Led the team in misplayed passes, however, including one that led to a chance for Antigua and seemed afraid to shoot all night. Good run to earn the penalty.

Herculez Gomez – 6.5

Worked hard all night and got his shots on frame. First touch looked better than against Canada. Made good runs.

Clint Dempsey – 6.5

Solid performance by Dempsey, though he disappeared a bit late. Very active in the attack and put on a dribbling clinic at times during the match. Finished off the penalty kick.

(sub) Oguchi Onyewu – 2.5

Really only had one play he needed to make – stopping Byers on the goal. He was outpaced and couldn’t do it. Not a good night off the bench.

(sub) Terrence Boyd – N/A

Wasted a chance with a giveaway after intercepting a pass. Unable to make an impact

(sub) Jozy Altidore – N/A

Unable to make an impact in short minutes.

2 Comments

1. 

   rick sewall

   June 9, 2012 at 9:51 am

   The game was a mismatch, but is amazing how a country with a tiny population can keep the score where it was. If they had two or three quality players they would be tough.

   Reply
   • 

     Sean Donahue

     June 9, 2012 at 6:12 pm

     Good point. The U.S. had more trouble creating opportunities than anyone would’ve expected. I think of Grenada, who the U.S. faced in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, as an example. If Antigua & Barbuda had two players the qualify of Jason Roberts and Shalrie Joseph in the squad, how would the U.S. have fared in this match? The U.S. can certainly play better than they did and will need to on Tuesday.

     Reply