USA-TRINIDAD & TOBAGO [3-0]
U.S. PLAYER RATINGS
GRADE PLAYER (CLUB) GP/G
Starters
5 Tim Howard (Everton/ENG) 38/0
Never tested and collected a few balls confidently. Marshaled his teammates effectively on the few occasions T&T earned free kicks or corners.
6 Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew) 84/7
Tackled tenaciously, pulled off a killer last-ditch tackle on Jason Scotland in the final minutes, got forward to lob crosses.
7 Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege/BEL) 40/5
Blotted out Kenwyne Jones and Stern John most of the time, once pushed into midfield on the dribble. Ole!
7 Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes/FRA) 65/10
Chip out of the back led to first goal, ranged wide to cover left flank, stubbornly won balls in 50-50 situations, blocked a shot when Carlos Edwards cut inside.
5 DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers/SCO) 85/17
Left his corner exposed but that may have been a tactical risk stipulated in the game plan. Slid a few nice balls up the line for Donovan, Ching and Altidore. Headed a good cross right to the keeper.
5 Clint Dempsey (Fulham/ENG) 49/13
Smartly headed a bouncing ball to produce a chance, took a shot from distance with Ching possible open for a diagonal ball, dragged opponents inside to open up space for Hejduk.
7 Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado) 63/0
Moved smartly and quickly in support of the attackers, swept up loose balls and cut off passes, and finished strongly after fading a bit late in the first half.
7 Michael Bradley (Borussia M'gladbach/GER) 28/5
Consistently effective with his passes, pushed forward to get a shot on frame, gave two balls away in second half that could have been costly. Lobbed a great ball over the T&T back line to Altidore.
8 Landon Donovan (Los Angeles) 108/37
Started a bit poorly but soon got into the flow and tormented T&T with his pace, angled runs, decisive dribbles and precise serves. Passed up a scoring chance to set up the third goal.
6 Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo) 36/9
Selflessly absorbed punishment and carved out space for Altidore, et al. Set up Altidore with a great low ball he popped over the bar.
9 Jozy Altidore (Xerez/SPAIN) 9/6
Kid kicked butt even though he ballooned a sitter. Second goal was a world-class finish.
Substitutes
NR Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca/Mex) 4/0
Smooth and poised on the ball, got up the wing to hit a decent cross.
NR Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA) 16/3
Nearly played a ball through for Altidore in tight space.
(1=low; 5=average; 10=high)
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