Commentary
USA-Honduras World Cup Qualifying Player Ratings
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Sep 5, 2017
Sept. 5 in San Pedro Sula
Honduras 1 USA 1. Goals: Quioto 27; Wood 85.
Cometh the crisis, cometh the savior.
By far the lesser renowned of the two U.S. Bundesliga-based forwards, it was Bobby Wood whose cool control and sharp finish amid a goalmouth melee yielded the goal by which the USA salvaged a point in San Pedro Sula in a 1-1 tie.
Wood’s goal in the 85th minute cancelled out a first-half strike by Romell Quioto that the Hondurans were unable to build upon despite controlling play for long stretches.
The result leaves the teams tied in the Hexagonal standings with nine points from eight games with two matches remaining.
USA Player Ratings:
Starters
Player (Club) GP/G
5 Brad Guzan (Atlanta United), 58/0. Handled all the
shots he should have saved, backed up a step on the goal but probably didn't have any real chance anyway.
3 Graham Zusi (Sporting KC), 55/5. Torched several times by Alberth Elis
and Romell Quioto, seldom gave the attack any width or impact.
4 Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX), 46/3. Crucial slide tackle came up short on Quioto, who used the time and space
allotted to score. Made several good tackles and clearances, including do-or-die stop of Antony Lozano on Honduran counter.
5 Matt Besler (Sporting KC), 45/1. Hit too many
errant passes but made crucial recoveries and interceptions in defensive half of the field. Hooked the rebound of a saved shot back across goal to create U.S. goal.
3 DaMarcus Beasley
(Houston Dynamo), 127/17. Started well by winning a free kick and contributing a headed clearance but soon cautioned for a shirt-tug on Elis that defined the rest of his match.
4
Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), 138/17. Covered a lot of ground, tracking back on late Lozano run, and made defensive plays in many parts of the field but passed very poorly.
5
Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), 15/1. Overrun a few times and eventually cautioned for a succession of fouls, he plugged away diligently. Raced back to stop an attack near his own goal line and in
desperation time hit a searing free kick that led to the equalizer.
4 Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), 22/1. Somehow his considerable talents don’t come forth when the
team is struggling. Lost a ball in midfield that led to a chance for Lozano. He didn’t do much defensively and dragged a shot well wide late in the first half.
5 Christian
Pulisic (Bor. Dortmund/GER), 18/7. Came back to life late in the first half to set up a chance for Dempsey and link up with Morris to hit a shot on frame. Fought through several brutal tackles to
finish the match. Won the free kick that produced the U.S. goal.
4 Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), 139/57. Latched onto a poor clearance to hit a shot that was deflected for a
corner kick. Felled twice by cautioned fouls in the first 25 minutes, he didn’t make much space for himself but provided a couple of good serves for teammates.
5 Jordan Morris
(Seattle Sounders), 23/5. Shot just wide with a good chance in the opening minutes. Bottled up much of the time but won the header that created the equalizing opportunity for Wood.
Substitutes
5 Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/ENG), 55/5. Shored up the right side and connected on a few passes in the middle third. Aggressive throw-in led to a
chance.
5 Paul Arriola (D.C. United), 13/2. Ran the right flank relentlessly, pushed forward into the attack, chased down a few balls defensively.
7 Bobby Wood
(Hamburg/GER), 34/9. Missed connections with Dempsey shortly after coming on, salvaged a vital point by chesting Morris’ header and finishing emphatically.
TRIVIA. Wood’s goal was his first of the year, his fifth in World Cup qualifiers, and ninth of his U.S. career.
Sept. 5 in San Pedro Sula
Honduras 1 USA 1. Goals: Quioto 27; Wood 85.
Honduras –- L.Lopez;
Beckeles, H.Figueroa, M.Figueroa, Alvarado; Elis, Mejia. A.Lopez (Costly, 64), Claros, Quioto (Garcia, 66), Lozano (Palacios, 82).
USA -- Guzan; Zusi (Cameron, 63), Gonzalez,
Besler, Beasley (Arriola, 62); Acosta, Bradley, Pulisic, Dempsey, Nagbe (Wood, 73), Morris.
Yellow Cards: Honduras -- Claros 17, H.Figueroa 23, H.Figueroa 90+2; USA -- Beasley 36,
Acosta 61.
Red Card: Honduras -- H.Figueroa 90+3.
Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador).
Att.: 37,325.
Stats:
USA / HON
Shots: 9 / 11
Shots on Goal: 4 / 6
Saves: 5 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 4
Fouls: 17 / 14
Offside: 1 / 2
Still seems as though our back line is our Achilles heel, doesn't matter if it's Zusi, Gonzalez, brooks, or Cameron all making basic mistakes. I thought Pulisic, Besler, and Beasley were the only players that were steady. Overall, a scrappy game where we barely got a result to stay in, hopefully Arena can get us a win against Panama and T&T.
DMB was terrible! They ran past him, over him, around him, like he wasn't there! If Acosta hadn't covered for him so much of the time, they'd have had a wide open lane to the goal. The announcers even suggested that Arena should bring back Caliguiri! How about Bornstein? He's bigger, faster, stronger, and plays every week in a tougher league than MLS.
I saw 2/3 of the match on a Honduran Facebook feed, there was no rhythm ( much buffering ) to the game. It was difficult for me to evaluate due to the connection. It seems as if the back line isn't the only concern, the mids and final third as well. Formations and personnel do make a difference. For October, I might be better off on a catamaran wasted away in oblivion. Assuming there's still a Caribbean after Irma. Good luck everyone down there. Watching Mexico vs Costa Rica, just to remind me of quality touches and passing.
The Earthquake strikes again in Costa Rica. 1-1. Pura Vida.
It seems every game I watch Gonzales gifts the opponent a goal. Unbelievable that Arena keeps playing him. That was as crappy a game as I've seen in a long time - Pulisic was about the only one running and hustling throughout, terrible sloppy passing, kick-it-long turnovers.... guys barely jogging and 1/2-a$$ing it around. If you can't beat Honduras, do you really deserve to be a world cup team? Seriously. Yeah it was hot - I've seen 128 degrees in Ramadi and we had to run around in full kit, so spare me. Arena needs to re-think his hands-off, we're all professionals approach - because a good number of these guys need a good kick in the rear.
Sorry to be so negative, but it's ugly, and needs to change.
Yes. I agree. Gonzales is good for a goal per game... for the opposition. Yes, he can be dangerous on corner kicks, but surely there are better options!
I could not find the game on tv. I even had my wife look for it she could not find it either. So I missed the damn game.
Nick, it was on beIN Sports, in english. I don't receive thatchannel, nor do I get FOX Sports 2. But it was on Universo, in Spanish. It's been over 50 years since I took Spanish, and it's not coming back to me when I watch soccer on Universo. I've been very disappointed with the entities chosen to broadcast these games. Airing some of them on channels that are in a separate sports package from the basic tv lineup is terribly unfair to those of us on a retirement budget.
Ginger, do I remember correctly that you reside in Florida? If so, good luck and hope you and everyone down there weathers Irma as safely as possible.
The amount of offside calls is telling. Meaning there was not enough of them when your really trying to attack. Even the amount of corner kicks is telling. The more corner kicks you get that means the more pressure your puttin on the opponents defense. So the ball is going off them. Plus you always have at least a chance to score a goal off a corner.
The Zusi experiment at back should be over. Put him on the shelf beside Chandler. Gonzales also. It amazes me that we started off having strong keepers and then defenders and then miss and then strikers and now some of the weakest players are at defense.
Overall, the team plays with little physical toughness. They need to watch tapes of past players i.e. Balboa and Lalas and Harkes to name a few who understood the commitment you must make when you put on the US jersey. That commitment/effort is lacking.
I realize he's been out due to injuries and is probably still not 100%, but isn't that just what Jermaine Jones provides? He's far from my favorite player and , rather than compliment Bradley, he tends to overlap him; still, he offers exactly what a lot of you guess feel is missing. Ironic!
Bad auto correct! "Guess" should be "guys"..
The referee did well. The game was ugly, but the US avoided a disastrous result. There were long stretches where both teams just kicked the ball up the field aimlessly. Not entertaining and difficult to watch. I actually stopped watching in frustration in the 30th minute and finished several hours later watching the match. The tie is little comfort and only looks good compared to a disastrous loss.
Yes, the referee did well. The vicious kicking at and stepping on the opponents feet that was the key to Costa Rica's game plan was mostly controlled. Had he refereed US - Costa Rica we might have won.
One of the more promising moments of US - Costa Rica was Pulisic, late in the game, getting in a good kick to the rear of a CR player's ankle. Germaine Jones lacks tact, but he is a fighter.
While I thought we outplayed CR and were unfortunate to lose, in this game, Honduras was much more dangerous than CR ever was, and we were fortunate to tie. Beasley and Zuzi were torched again and again; I don't think of them as slow players (at least not Beasley, though he's quicker than he is fast), but they certainly looked it last night. While the ref was consistent (and kudos to him for not calling many of the Hondoran dives), I would have like him to try to call some of the overtly physical play (when Pulisic ran to the endline to try to block the ball from going over the endline, and the Hondoran player blatantly knocked him out of bounds (making no attempt to play the ball), how is that not a foul?). I didn't think anyone really shone, but credit to the players for persisting under very difficult conditions (92° and humid), and great team effort on the goal (rocket of a shot, rebound kept in bounds, headed on and a great final touch by Wood). A smart move by Arena to play mostly MLS players due to weather considerations (and using more of the European players in the CR game); big picture thinking....
Wood should have been a 5 - yes - he scored - but that was it. Everyone else should be dropped by at least 1. Pulisic is a gift - but the last 2 games have shown he still has a way to go - at least in CONCACAF. Overall - these scores were way too positive. Let's be honest - awful field, stadium, fans (if you are a US fan), time of day, etc. Gotta hand it to H - they set the table in their favor.
And - shouldn't we be going with a score for the coach?
Arena should question Nagbe's talent. poor vision and passing, unnecessary turns, which cause the loss of momentum and breaks the rhythm of the game. He was really poor against H.... I would give him minus 1 (-1). We still need #10 and it is not Nagbe. Pulisic is not quite ready yet...but will be soon, I hope. The kid took a lot of brutal beating in last two matches....welcome to CONCACAF baby...and he took it as a man. Acosta did really well in the last game. Roldan deserves a look vs Nagbe. it is hard to overestimate Bobby Wood's goal!!!!! This one will be remembered.
outplayed Costa Rica-"except where it counted"? Liked seeing Jordan Morris to start.
If this was a scouting report; which if any player would u bloggers pick for your team.
It was hard to watch.
my son's u17 elite team passes better.....
The USA struggled these last two games because they strayed away from what they were doing in the past. World cup qualifiers are battles and there is no place for nice guys here. Bring back nastiness. You can try to play beautiful and possession-oriented soccer all you want in meaningless games, like Gold cup and friendlies. until the USMNT have the players to play nice and win, they should keep playing nasty against CONCACAF opponents in world cup qualifiers.
Arena should know better. This game was always going to be about physicality and not possession and movement. The field made it impossible to play one and two touch. We should have had our most physical players in this game.. instead we had Zusi and Beasley, who are both too small and slow for a game like this. Zusi has been a decent player in MLS but there's no way he should be on the National team and Beasley's time was up about 3-4 years ago.
so that's why it's ok to pass the ball to the other team?
Play one or two touch??? in your dreams....
I saw only 17 minutes of it on Youtube and it wasn't all that good. No surprise ,as Bob stated, that it was one of the ugliest games. LOOK at how we played against Costa Rica, and Honduras, who we usually beat but this time lucky to get a tie out of it. You have to ask yourself are we that much better on the field than 20 or 25 years ago; and take into account the growth of the game, the Academies, the professionalization , the huge amount of licensed coaches, the organizational growth , the pro-league, soccer on TV, everything... Look at the product that we produce out there on the field and ask yourself....IS IT THAT MUCH BETTER.. Notice the first goal that was scored by Honduras. Look at Zusi, BALL WATCHING, like a typical youth player. A defender should always have the ball and the opponent in his view. And he also , wrongly position himself square with the opponent which gives the opponent the first step or jump . Both Zusi and the right central back employed walkers with tennis balls stuck on the bottom. I'm surprised they allowed the use of walkers on the field. I mean,SERIOUSLY, how bad was the defense at this level considering these are professional players.... And then Honduras almost scored a second goal but it hit the post. My question is why was Michael Bradley having to chase this attacker down.(watch video). Again poor defense , poor positioning and it left a slow as molasses midfielder, Bradley, to chase down an attacker going through a big open space in the middle lane. All the opponents have to do is play with a false #9 wait till Bradley is alone and has cover this huge gap between the center backs and just run past him...I'm not happy with the two center backs playing square , I prefer a center back and sweeper to cover that middle lane, and who are both capable ball handlers not only to take the ball upfield but switch positions; this would forego having Bradley to go back and collect the ball. It is time for the US to begin to establish a style to play, for every game we play is just nothing but a big hodge podge, of players thrown together who can run all day. There needs to be some huge changes made. And i'm also not impressed with Morris, for he lacks the skills in small spaces. I think his coaches made him lift weights to improve his ball touch. Look at the run and gun crew we have out on the field: Nagby, Woods, Morris, Altidore, even Pulisic but he is better skilled. There is way too much of these types on the field, making our team not balanced, we have too many similar type of players out there...
Great analysis for 17 minutes not! I did not read it because it is too long and looks like bs from the first glance....cmon schoon get real. Rediculous...did not see the game and wrote a book about it
Zabi, obviously it is best you didn't read it. Being familiar with some of your previous comments this is obviously a little above your head, anyway.. You did the right thing by not reading my comment...
Don't you think it is ridiculous to comment on something that you did not see. This exactly what Klinsmann was talking about.
Zabi, read my comment first. Then you will see that my comments were related to video that was given in the article. And in this video I specifically related to the goal and the poor defense as shown by Zusi and Gonzalez and the poor defensive positioning which forced Bradley to run back on defense. I also made some suggestions upon improvements for USMNT on defense as well as build up, again this question I posed has nothing to do with having needed to watching the whole game. I also stated that there many players who are similar playing together, which again, you don't need to have watched the whole game to give this criticism. Next I posed the question about how better is the US team as compared to 20-25 years ago, which, again, has nothing to do with having to watch the whole game. In sum you either need to read my whole comment or skip it because the info given is a little above your head.
Zabi , your criticism of me of not having watched the whole game is solely based on your admission of not having read my whole post. So foolish....
Once again, FRANK, send your resume into USSF with all your details and coaching experience in CAPS. Hey, it may get noticed and you'll get the job — nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more!
It was a hard game for USA, I will take the one point. lets go USA. WC 2018 Russia.
Also as W S said good luck and god bless you in Florida a in other states in this natural disaster. Soccer is not important here.