USA-Costa Rica Copa Centenario Player Ratings
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jun 7, 2016
Clint Dempsey converted a penalty kick to spark an onslaught that produced goals by Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood for a 3-0 halftime lead. Graham Zusi came off the bench to add a fourth goal in the final minutes.
USA-COSTA RICA EXPRESS:
June 6 in Chicago
USA 4, Costa Rica 0. Goals: Dempsey 9, Jones 37, Wood 42, Zusi 87.
Att.: 39,642.
USA Player Ratings:
Starters
5 Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/ENG), 47/0.
He wasn’t needed to make any big saves. He cleanly caught crosses,
including a couple of tricky ones, and distributed the ball intelligently.
6 DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland/ENG), 36/0.
Left big gaps that weren’t exploited by Roland
Matarrita but also won duels with him. Got in several good tackles, passed the ball well most of the time, and launched a cross that produced the first goal via a PK.
7 Geoff Cameron
(Stoke City/ENG), 42/4.
Covered up for Yedlin repeatedly to block crosses and entry passes by Matarrita and Bryan Ruiz. Chased down a through ball to deny Alvaro Saborio a point-blank
chance. Played a dodgy clearance that Randall Azofeifa first-timed over the crossbar. Re-directed a volley that required a good save.
5 John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/GER), 23/3.
Swept away clearances to defuse several threatening situations. Ballooned a headed clearance but teammates scrambled the ball clear. Lost track of Celso Borges when he shot over the crossbar.
Cautioned for fouling Ruiz with a hard tackle.
6 Fabian Johnson (Borussia M'Gladbach/GER), 45/2.
Tracked back to shut off opposing crosses, ran by opponents to make space for
Wood and Jones, ran endlessly to deny Costa Rica time on the ball. Delivered a couple of errant passes to opponents or over the sideline in the first half.
5 Michael Bradley
(Toronto FC), 117/15.
Played a solid game as midfield anchor and let his teammates do the attacking. Slipped a couple of good passes into the channels and clipped a ball crossfield to Bedoya
that led to the third goal. Defensively, missed a few situations and didn’t react quickly enough to plug up the middle.
8 Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), 62/4.
Regained his 2014 World Cup mojo by pushing attacks and blunting those of the opposition, and bagged the second goal after winning the ball, playing it to Dempsey, and joining him in the final third.
Great pass released Bedoya up the left side and he shot wide.
6 Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes/FRA), 50/2.
Effectively played as a conduit in attack and worker bee in defense.
Numerous times he surprised a Costa Rican from behind to jostle the ball loose or close off space. Like many teammates, he showed purpose and energy after a shaky start.
6 Bobby Wood
(Union Berlin/GER), 21/6.
Took his goal smartly and certainly alleviated fears of Hamburg fans that their team had bought a bust. Drew a penalty-kick foul by getting inside Christian Gamboa
as Yedlin’s cross dropped. Played a tough, crisp game at both ends.
5 Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), 27/5.
He blasted two great chances over the bar but otherwise
contributed greatly on both sides of the ball. His diligent backtracking enabled Yedlin to better time his challenges and runs forward, and he effectively served as target man to hold up the ball.
7 Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), 125/50.
Dominated the first half by clever dribbles and shrewd passes. Confidently drilled the penalty kick that opened the scoring, glided 40
yards upfield on the ball to set up shot for Jones.
Substitutes
6 Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City), 37/5.
Covered both ends of the flank to fend off attacks,
nearly reached a diagonal ball from Jones to get a scoring chance, drew a foul near the edge of the penalty area, deservedly cashed in a turnover to score.
NR Chris Wondolowski (San
Jose Earthquakes), 34/10.
Drifted offside to annul an attack, made space for Zusi by dragging a defender.
NR Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), 54/1.
Cleared a ball
out of the goalmouth just moments after entering the match.
TRIVIA. The four goals scored by the USA were the most scored by either
team in the 34-game series that is now even at 14-14-6.
June 6 in Chicago
USA 4, Costa Rica 0. Goals: Dempsey 9,
Jones 37, Wood 42, Zusi 87.
USA – Guzan; Yedlin, Cameron, Brooks, Johnson, Bradley, Jones, Bedoya (Beckerman 84), Zardes, Dempsey (Wondolowski 79), Wood (Zusi 71).
Costa
Rica -- Pemberton; Duarte, Acosta, Calvo, Gamboa (Salvatierra 46), Matarrita, Borges, Bolanos, Ruiz, Campbell (Azofeifa 46), Urena (Saborio 19).
Referee: Roddy Zambrano
(Ecuador).
Att.: 39,642.
(Ratings: 1=low; 5=average; 10-high.)
Good all around effort by the US but Costa Rica was very poor. Against a good South American team we don't have the technical ability or the speed of play to win. Of course the media and fans were pushing for Pulisic and Nagbe to play and Klinsmann is doing the usual and messing with their psyche to prove that he's in charge. Unfortunately, if they get win or tie against Paraguay we're stuck with this guy until they fail to qualify for WC 2018 and then finally we'll be done with him.
If the USMNT can only draw just above 39,600 fans in the third largest metro area in the country, well, the business side of US Soccer will start to kick into gear. Sooner or later they will have to deal with what everyone else already knows. Klinsmann cannot produce winners. He cannot develop players. He hasn't a clue as a coach. And so the product on the field is haphazard at best. But for the marketing and ticket sales people it is obvious: The product is unworthy of the fans' time and money. Think big sponsor Nike is happy with 39,600? Expect a silver parachute payout for Klinsmann with a relatively quiet 'mutual parting of ways' in July. Not that this is acceptable; Jurgen needs to be fired with prejudice. But that won't occur. Jurgen is cunning. Leaving the US now leaves him lots of time to pick up another national team prior to 2018. Jurgen will never coach a team in a medium to top professional league. Why? Because the gameday matches every weekend is too much a barometer of coaching abilities or lack thereof. It is much safer and easier to just stick with national teams. And that is where he will spend his days.
"Of course the media and fans were pushing for Pulisic and Nagbe to play and Klinsmann is doing the usual and messing with their psyche to prove that he's in charge." Brilliant!
jbapper, good analysis...it was a mediocre performance by the CR squad and the only bright spot was that our boys pounced on some giveaways and scored when it mattered. Let's see what our boys will do against Paraguay which looked like a contender against Colombia...they need a win and the US better get ready for a TOUGH MATCH.
Have you seen the ticket prices for these games? I'm amazed they even got 39,000.
J BAPPER, couldn't agree more, it's good for USA to win, if we could play like this and win consistenly against good opposition Klinsmann as a coach wouldn't be a problem, but his exclusion of so many good players, lack fo tactics, results in the Gold Cup, is enough for me to say that he needs to go.
Oh for cripes sakes guys! Though I must say I was stuck in traffic for the first half, what I saw in the second half left me a little worried what with the Ticos took the game to us. BUT, it is a matter of danged if we/he do, and danged if he/we don't! Let's get behind the team!!! PLAY ON!!!
What you missed was the US coming out in a 4231 with Jones and Bradley holding and Bedoya higher. Zardes on the right, Wood on the left and Dempsey up top. They moved the ball very well. Zardes is still the weakest link as far as possession under pressure, but I think he is improving. For some reason JK switched to a 442 after the second US goal. That reduced the number behind the ball from 9 to 8, and it showed. Johnson had to quiet down after a yellow, but he was very steady.
Referee ratings, Soccer America? From what I've seen they've done well with the exception of the goal taken away from Ecuador against Brazil. BTW, why are the officials allowing defenders to line up right in front of the ball on free kicks, precluding a quick kick? Training our kids that it's OK instead of being a cardable offense?
Good observation. It is hardly the "beautiful game" when 'gamesmanship' is the typical order of the day. Somehow mid 30's and very fit top world referees cannot master dealing with players who employ such tactics and kill the game off? Sceptics who mock soccer have every right to do so when the (un)fair play continues unabated, no repercussions at this highest level where all can see the mockery of what can be easily stopped. Good for you, R2 Dad, if you are helping the youth around you play in the right manner.
I find the failure to card players who are BLATANTLY delaying a restart one of the greatest refereeing travesties in the modern game. It is not a difficult concept, and if referees enforced this, it would stop immediately. And it is very hard to enforce it at lower levels when top referees allow it. I wish FIFA would either enforce the rule or eliminate it.
Ric...for the first 10 minutes, it was all Costa Rica and I was muttering, "I'm too old for this." I didn't feel up to holding my breath for 90 minutes. Then Dempsey took the penalty kick and it just got better and better from there on through the first half. Of course JK made us commenters look silly by starting the exact same players that struggled so against Columbia and, naturally, they played one of their best games in a long time. I believe 3 of the goals were from the field with just the penalty kick being a set piece. They were such fun to watch!!! Jermaine Jones was a beast. They made JK look like he knew exactly what he was doing. They performed as a unit with the team mentality that they were missing throughout the Columbia game.
Actually, it was all CR for the first 5-6 minutes. Then the U.S. possessed for 2-3 minutes, which led directly to the PK. In other words, possession with a purpose.
Am I the only one who wonders about that very, very clumsy foul that resulted in the USA's awarded penalty, a goal that then took immediately tension away for the USMNT. Yes, it is clearly a foul. But almost a pre-choreographed one, no? Not too hard to arrange on a deadball, a corner no less. Staged?
U.S. game 1 in Santa Clara: attendance = 67,000. U.S. game 2 in Chicago: attendance = 39,000+. Not very impressive, Chicago.
Mr. Leone, is right. Can anyone help us explain all those empty seats in Chicago? The entire upper East (lakeside) block was obviously blocked off and empty as ticket sales must have made it very clear to the Soldier Field management not to even bother to open that very large portion of the stadium. Chicago in June on a Tuesday night. If anyone can shed some light on why this was such a very, very poor turnout, I would be interested to gain insights. Thank you. (Note that this low attendance follows only 25,550 attending the opener for Jamaica-Venezuela at Soldier Field on Sunday at 5 p.m. Chicago time)
Claus, check out the comments section post, with my thoughts, on Paul's original game summary article. I have been to both US games.
Claus, check out the comments section post, with my thoughts on this subject, in Paul's original game summary article. I have been to both US games in this tournament.
Gyasi Zardes. One wishes him well, but will he ever become a more reliable scorer than, say, Álvaro Saborío -- who deserves to be captain of "the gang that couldn't shoot straight."
R2 Dad: If a defender lines up right in front of the ball on a free kick, blast one directly at his private parts. That will teach him a needed lesson!
Here is one problem with that, Carl. After the freekick taker blasts it and the ensuing shouting of opposing players takes place, a referee shows a yellow to the freekick taker. Why? Referee holds up his whistle, clearly demonstrating to all that he had not yet blown the ball free. So the side awarded the freekick is still disadvantaged though the catalyst for all of this was a foul on their team's player.
Worse still the ref could show yellow to the defender and then straight red to the player who kicked the ball into the defender.
R2 Dad. I am glad you ARE NOT coaching my children.
Me too! I don't have the patience. But really, this isn't about me, it's about the laws of the game. The job of the referee is to enforce the laws, not pick and choose which ones to enforce and which to ignore. Only governors and presidents are allowed to....oh wait.
Claus Fischer: Empty seats? When the tickets first went on sale, I checked the prices and determined that they were over-priced. I guess everyone else thought so too.
As to the main part of the article, I am not sure why Bradley gets a lower rating than Yedlin who was truly awful defending and who shanked a ball that setup a Costa Rican shot ( the US was lucky not to have gone down 1-0 on that).
Taking less than the required 10 yards to give your defense time to set up is not pretty; but it is part of the game and the referee's responsibility to fix.
If the above suggestion is followed then I would hope "it" is followed by a red card. Several "justifications" for the low attendance. All are rather and an embarrassment for the USA fans. Also sends a sad message to the world that the Americans will not come out and support their own team.
Klinsmann in a nutshell: in a 4-0 game, with a huge game coming up, he has a chance to play Wondo, who has no place in the team's future, or Pulisic, who is the team's future. The decision he made makes no sense.
The ticket prices are priced like it is the World Cup & it is not. That is an embarrassment for confederations putting on the tournament. Have been pleased with Dempsey the most. Don't believe Nagbe will get a start without an injury under J.K.
R2 Dad...my daughter's traveling team coach called it "playing to the whistle". Complete change of subject: this is the first time I can ever remember on Soccer America where people weren't agreeing or disagreeing with the player ratings and detailing their reasons why. Instead, we're talking about filling stadiums! Does that mean that we all agree that our guys did a good job against Costa Rica? It was our first Copa America win since 1965, from what I read. And we scored not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 (!!!!!) goals while shutting out Costa Rica! Only one was a set piece, which is usually our bread and butter. And did you see the look on the Costa Rica coach's face? That said it all! Go USA!
I agree on the lack of cards for delaying games on Free Kicks. This is one of those unintended consequences of an effort to clarify the rule on playing giving 10 yards for a Free.
The idea was that you should not have to wait to get your free kick for the 10 yards so the rule was reinterpreted to say that is required only when asked. Teams quickly learned they could eliminate ANY advantage from a Free by immediately standing on top of the ball following a foul and then waiting for the player to ask for 10 and then the ref tell the player on top of the ball to move off.
This has completely destroyed the intent. As far as I'm concerned the second the whistle is blown for a foul 10 yards must be immediately given and ANY attempt to kick the ball away or delay the game must be an automatic yellow.
My two other pet peeves are the thrown in where a player picks up the ball as if he is going to throw the ball into play then drops or hands it off to a second play is another waste of time. Once you pick the ball up YOU must throw the ball in.
The second is shielding the ball out of play. For me this is clear obstruction since their is no attempt to play the ball.
On the ratings themselves, I saw a few items differently.
On Brooks, I would have given him a 6 he was very very solid in the back. At no time did I feel he was seriously threatened.
On Johnson I would have dropped him down to 5. He is ok but I really did not see the full two way aspect to his game. I agree with those that his talents are wasted as a Left Back but really the options behind him are thin. I'm still left wondering why Brek Shea has not made even the wider roster. He play for Orlando has been terrific this year.
Clint is overrated at this point in his career. And his claim of an assist on Jones goal was a bit much. I saw it as a bad touch similar to the touch he had in the a prior game where his bad touch and poor decision took a shot away from
Pulesic. In this case it was so far off he couldn't get there before Jones took the shot. I would drop him down to a 6 where he gets credit for the penalty and some good moments but it is not a dominating display.
Finally, Zardes is clearly the weak link on the team up top. I can't argue against his work rate and commitment - they are first rate but his technical ability for a National Team player is a real question mark. He has wasted so so many chances with poor touches and decision making. Against mediocre teams we can get away with those wasted chances but against stronger opposition the chance become far fewer and you have to be clinical in putting them away. Honestly, I would give Zardes a 4, imo he was that poor.