{"id":18722,"date":"2013-03-27T15:08:06","date_gmt":"2013-03-27T19:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=18722"},"modified":"2013-03-27T15:08:50","modified_gmt":"2013-03-27T19:08:50","slug":"player-ratings-u-s-mens-national-team-at-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=18722","title":{"rendered":"Player Ratings: U.S. Men\u2019s National Team at Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"460\" height=\"259\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VuyQ51MbQ1I\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<em>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\u2019Connell Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=18633\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">USA\u2019s 0-0 draw at Mexico<\/span><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Brad Guzan<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>6.5<\/b> (Brian 6, Sean 7)<br \/>\nCommanded his box in first half -brave effort on late 1st half chip, and looked confident from start to finish. A Howard-like performance in the biggest pressure-cooker in CONCACAF. (Brian) \u2026On a night where nerves could\u2019ve gotten the better of him, Guzan looked cool, calm, and collect throughout. Made three important saves and commanded his box well. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>DaMarcus Beasley<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>5.25<\/b> (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)<br \/>\nChallenge on\u00a0Aquino at edge of area earned him an early yellow, left\u00a0out in the dust\u00a0by Aquino again in 54th minute breach, but kept it together for much of the match. Gritty effort. (Brian) \u2026 It was a far from perfect performance from Beasley, but he recovered from his mistakes and gutted it out through injuries with the U.S. not having many options on the bench. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>Matt Besler<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>6.25<\/b> (Brian 6, Sean 6.5)<br \/>\nHad his hands full, but looked especially strong on corners and crosses from the flanks. Good awareness throughout. (Brian) \u2026 Thrown into his first World Cup qualifier at the most difficult venue, Besler had a few problems, but survived an early yellow card and partnered Gozalez well to play a big role in the shutout. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>Omar Gonzalez<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>7<\/b> (Brian 6, Sean 8)<br \/>\nGreat instincts and awareness throughout; good tackle in 63rd minute snuffed out Mexico advance, though nearly let Chicharito score off a header in the 87th minute. (Brian) \u2026 Playing on the biggest stage of his career, Gonzalez didn\u2019t miss a beat. Several key interceptions, big headers, and generally good marking. Firmly established his place in the U.S. backline with his performance. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>Geoff Cameron<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>5.25<\/b> (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)<br \/>\nGot\u00a0himself a decent half chance from Gomez&#8217;s first corner, but hung out to dry on\u00a0Zavala&#8217;s free header in the 27th minute. Helped spark a few attacks in 2nd half. (Brian) &#8230; Dangerous threat on offensive set pieces, though his defensive positioning on some set pieces was problematic. Had a few solid runs forward. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>Herulez Gomez<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>5<\/b> (Brian 5, Sean 5)<br \/>\nAwful over hit 2nd corner, decent defensive effort. Put together a few decent balls on the attack. (Brian) \u2026 Couldn\u2019t get anything going offensively, but put in a solid effort helping out defensively. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>Michael Bradley<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>6<\/b> (Brian 5.5, Sean 6.5)<br \/>\nGot away with a push on Chicharito inside area, not an especially solid defensive effort, but disruptive throughout, especially late. (Brian) \u2026 The moment never seems to get to Bradley, who was as solid as ever. U.S. attack only seemed to look dangerous when he pushed forward. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>Maurice Edu<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>4<\/b> (Brian 4, Sean 4)<br \/>\nInconsistent early, shaky moments in early 2nd half, very lucky not to get called for a penalty in the 76th minute tackle on Aquino. (Brian) \u2026 Very lucky to avoid giving up a penalty. Struggled overall to fill in for Jones. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>Graham Zusi<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>5.75<\/b> (Brian 5.5, Sean 6)<br \/>\nGood early challenge on Andres Guardado, solid work tracking back. Hustled all night. Probably could&#8217;ve added more going forward. (Brian) \u2026 A couple of game saving plays defensively saved a night where he didn\u2019t offer much in the attack. (Brian)<\/p>\n<p><b>Clint Dempsey<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>5<\/b> (Brian 5, Sean 5)<br \/>\nFactored into what early chances the US could find in the first half, poor 52nd minute effort that strayed well wide. Wasn&#8217;t going to get many opportunities. (Brian) \u2026 Gutted out 90 minutes, but clearly wasn\u2019t ready for a full game in the thin air of Mexico City after missing so much time due to injury. A few decent runs forward, but couldn\u2019t get much going offensively like the rest of the team. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p><b>Jozy Altidore<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>5.25<\/b> (Brian 5.5, Sean 5)<br \/>\nSlick ball to Bradley inside area gave US its first real chance. Decent hold up play, surprised to see his night end so early. (Brian) \u2026 Yes, it\u2019s hard for a forward to get chances in a game like this, but would\u2019ve like to see Altidore make more runs off the ball to try to find space. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p>(sub)<b> Eddie Johnson<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>5<\/b> (Brian 5.5, Sean 4.5)<br \/>\nPromising start, picked good spots and stretched the field as the U.S. began to sustain pressure after the hour, but with defense-first approach, opportunities were too few to make a true impact. (Brian) \u2026 Energy was there, but didn\u2019t have the strength to do the hold-up work the U.S. needed. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p>(sub)<b> Brad Davis<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>3.25<\/b> (Brian 3.5, Sean 3)<br \/>\nGave ball away too easily, dumb yellow gave Mexico a golden opportunity deep in the US end. (Brian) \u2026 Only impact was picking up a yellow card and giving up a dangerous free kick. (Sean)<\/p>\n<p>(sub)<b> Brek Shea<\/b> \u2013 Average Rating: <b>N\/A<\/b><br \/>\nNot enough time to make an impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Omar Gonzalez put in a great performance in a historic draw at Azteca.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/ussoccerlogofeature.jpg?fit=490%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18722"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18722"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18724,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18722\/revisions\/18724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}