The US shocked the world on Wednesday, with a 2-0 win over Spain. The Americans used a combination of discipline, effort, and all-around solid play to defeat the Spaniards, ranked number one by FIFA. The ratings:
Tim Howard [9] – He was steady and made several correct decisions to parry instead of attempting to catch difficult shots. He set the tone with an important save in the beginning of the second half. He came off his line well, but his distribution was shaky at times.
Jonathan Spector [8] – He continues to impress. He did have a shaky moment early, when a bad touch led to a chance. But he stayed composed on the ball and made smart decisions on when to attack. He helped kill the game by staying compact and closing-down well.
Jay DeMerit [9] – He was the man of the match. He had several clutch tackles, and he threw his body around to block shots.
Oguchi Onyewu [9]- He was dominant in the air and quickly covered ground to thwart the attack. He was crtical down the stretch.
Carlos Bocanegra [8] – He positioned himself well. He helped to keep the back line composed. However, he did not get forward in the attack much and had an embarrassing foul throw.
Clint Dempsey [8] – His finish was pure effort. He opened the game up early with a long shot and combined well with teammates to set-up chances. He defended when called upon.
Ricardo Clark [9] – He ran with the ball well in the midfield, which helped to relive pressure off the back line. But he was everywhere on defense. He blocked at least three shots and was amazing in the closing minutes, highlighted by a bicycle clearance.
Michael Bradley [6] – His red card was unfair, but he has to show more discipline. He worked hard to pressure the ball in the midfield. He failed to connect on several through-balls.
Landon Donovan [8] – He put in another excellent, work-man type effort. He played box to box , and his set pieces were dangerous.
Charlie Davies [7] – He looked spectacular in the first twenty-five minutes. His bicycle kick would have been amazing. His pace caused problems, but he needs to work on his crossing.
Jozy Altidore [8] – He had a great individual effort on the goal, by using his strength to shield and then calmly converting. He won two corners and was a nuisance the entire match.
Benny Feilhaber [8] – His patience to hold the ball-up led to the run that created the second goal. He was smooth on the ball and worked hard to defend in the closing minutes.
Connor Casey [6] – He helped to kill some time, but should have held the ball in the corner.
Jonathan Bornstein [NR] – He was not on the pitch long enough to evaluate, but did block a shot late.
What did you think of the US’ historic performance? Who was your man of the match? Share your thoughts below.
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