The USMNT opened 2009 Confederations Cup play with a 3-1 loss to the defending world champs Italy. However, despite the loss, the US team showed some promise. Below are the player ratings:
Tim Howard [8] – He was his normal self, coming-up with two big saves in the closing minutes. He did a good job staying composed on the long range efforts. There was not much he could do on any of the goals, although the second was stoppable.
Jonathan Spector [8] – He turned in a solid performance. He was composed in the defending third while on the ball. He was very good in the air and stepped in bravely in the 42nd minute to clear a bicycle attempt. His offensive game was a letdown, as he muffed a chance in the box.
Jay DeMerit [7] – He was steady up until the very end, when fatigue allowed Andrea Pirlo to blow past him. He made a good decision early to clear a ball into touch. He even had a nifty bicycle clearance.
Oguchi Onyewu. [8] – He was well positioned the entire game. He did commit some fouls but they were in non-dangerous situations. He did well to clear out a corner right before half time. He had one poor clearance, where he sent the ball over his own net.
Jonathan Bornstein [6] – He got caught out of his position several times that led to silly fouls, including one that drew a caution. He was lucky not to have scored an own goal. He also had a couple of iffy touches and poor crosses in the early portions of the match. However, he seemed to improve as the match went on.
Ricardo Clark [4] – The red card was harsh, but he should have known better to have gone into that challenge with his foot off the ground. The send-off was his third foul of the match. He must learn to be disciplined when challenging for the ball.
Clint Dempsey [5] – He played very predictable. He wasted a chance when he cracked a free kick well wide. He also played a short, terrible ball into pressure that led to the first Italian goal. His best contribution to the match was throwing himself into the fray when defending corner kicks.
Michael Bradley [8] – He was easily the man of the match in the first half, and he controlled the width of the midfield by spreading the ball around. He worked hard to apply pressure and force some bad decisions from the Italians.
Benny Felihaber [6] – He had an up and down match. He did show good, creative vision at times. He seemed to lose some composure as the match went on. His pass to Altidore set-up the only goal. However, he did not do a good job tracking back.
Landon Donovan [8] – He scored the only goal, by stepping up and converting a penalty. He did good job running at opponents into space and made himself a problem. He was forced to play more defensively in the second half.
Jozy Altidore [8] – He played the role of holding striker very well. He was constantly drawing fouls and causing problems. He showed poise when drawing the penalty.
Charlie Davies [6] – There was a drop-off when he entered the match. He mistimed a header off a corner kick and should have done better.
DeMarcus Beasley [5] – He showed his age and rust in limited action today. He had a poor cross that should have led to a much better opportunity.
Sacha Klejstan [NR] – He was not on the pitch enough to generate a rating.
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