STARTERS

Bill Hamid: Of the four Ireland goals, only Robbie Brady's effort early in the second half was all that "save-able." The inexperienced Hamid was left out to dry by terrible U.S. defending, and it actually could have been worse if not for a few fine saves. In a perfect world, he keeps out Brady’s effort and stops James McClean’s deflected effort, but that’s a lot to ask. Rating: 4.5

Fabian Johnson: For the first time in his U.S. career, Fabian Johnson has had two bad games in a row. Lately, we just haven't seen that delightful attacking thrust that we saw in Brazil. Perhaps it's the result of domestic and European duty with Borussia Monchengladbach, but Johnson simply looks tired these days. His bad giveaway set up Ireland's second goal—whether you want to put that down as a growing pain of Jurgen Klinsmann's emphasis on passing out of the back or a poor individual error from Johnson depends on your perspective.

For what it’s worth, the narrative could have been slightly different here had his ambitious left-footed drive in the first half struck the other side of the post. Rating: 3.5

Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron: This pair started and excelled in the U.S.'s first two World Cup games, but their individual and collective performances in Dublin were nowhere near their high standard set in Brazil. Neither delivered any particularly impressive defensive moments, and both committed more errors in this game alone than they usually do over a 10-game span. Their night was epitomized by a shambolic series of botched clearances that should have led to a Daryl Murphy goal.

A night to forget for both, to say the least. For Besler, it’s part of a growing trend of questionable performances since the World Cup ended. For now, we’ll chalk it up to exhaustion from playing almost non-stop high level soccer for the past two years. Rating: 3

Timmy Chandler: Chandler has rarely looked all that comfortable at left back, and tonight was no exception. Ireland’s Anthony Pilkington got the better of him repeatedly, and Chandler also failed to make much of an impact on the offensive end. His right foot is far more accomplished than his left, and as a result he can struggle to make the same attacking impact on the left as he often does at right back.

With each passing game, it seems that Greg Garza ever more firmly establishes himself as the U.S. left back of the future. Rating: 3.5

Kyle Beckerman: Beckerman is usually the picture of consistency for club and country, but Tuesday against Ireland was not his finest hour. He failed to do his usual job of effectively screening the back four—never more so than on Pilkington’s opener—and was also uncharacteristically loose in possession. Given Beckerman’s advanced age, is it time to start phasing him out of the national team? Rating: 4

Alfredo Morales: Morales was played out of position in a semi-wide midfield role, and his performance dropped accordingly. He has looked like a serviceable player in his U.S. career to date, but he struggled when moved out of his comfort zone. We can only hope he doesn’t become the latest casualty in Klinsmann’s oft-failed positional tinkering. Rating: 4.5

Mix Diskerud: Whatever your opinion of Mix Diskerud, he certainly has a knack for popping up in promising goal scoring positions and finishing with aplomb. For the second straight game, he failed to dictate the tempo with his passing, but props for scoring an excellently taken goal.

He also deserves credit for applying the pressure that led to the U.S.’s goal. Even though his passing has often struggled of late, it’s impossible to deny that his work rate and tenacity are improving. Rating: 5

Alejandro Bedoya: Bedoya was comfortably the standout American on the evening, the lone bright spot in a dreadful team performance. He looked more creative than ever—especially on a nifty flick to Johnson and a near assist to Altidore—and also offered his customarily strong defensive work. It was the perfect way to cap a 2014 year that has seen him experience a meteoric rise in Klinsmann’s eyes.

From game to game, he looks more and more influential to this U.S. side. Perhaps this was his destiny all along—he made the final 30 for the 2010 World Cup roster and started the 2011 Gold Cup final, after all. Rating: 6

Jozy Altidore: Altidore nearly scored an excellent slammed finish late in the first half and also played a nice ball into Wondolowski on the goal sequence, but other than that he wasn’t terribly involved in the proceedings. As has been custom of late, he was left rather stranded by his U.S. teammates, lacking the service he thrives on.

National team duty was once his oasis from the poor conditions at Sunderland, but unfortunately the support from his teammates is starting to resemble that provided by his middling EPL club. Rating: 4.5

Chris Wondolowski: Chris Wondolowski has been an excellent player and professional for a long time, but it’s hard to see how he’s still getting minutes for the U.S. at this stage in his career. His touch was incredibly off in his one half of play, so much so that this rating could have been far lower had he not delivered a fine assist in a two-on-one situation on the U.S. goal. For perspective, even the normally ultra-diplomatic Ian Darke harshly criticized his performance. Rating: 3.5

SUBSTITUTES

Greg Garza: Garza looked solid once again, but his lack of elite pace was exposed a few times in his cameo, especially when Southampton striker Shane Long turned him before firing off the inside of the post. On a positive note, he nearly struck an undeserved equalizer on a fine pass from Jordan Morris. Rating: 5

Bobby Wood: "You just get the feeling that one of these games it’s all going to come together for Wood. He’s got a very intriguing combination of size and speed, which enables him to get into good spots in front of goal with impressive frequency." Those first two sentences are what I wrote after the Colombia game, and they still hold true. He had a few too many loose touches but his superb touch and turn of pace nearly led to a fantastic equalizer in the second half. The future looks very bright for Wood—now it’s about finding consistency at the club level and getting off the mark for the U.S. Rating: 5

Rubio Rubin: After a scintillating debut, Rubin hardly got a kick in his late cameo. Rating: Incomplete

Jordan Morris: Because he was so uninvolved, he gets an Incomplete rating, but that’s not to take away from Morris’s fine pullback to Garza that nearly led to a U.S. goal. Not bad for a dude who’s still got two-and-a-half years of college left (provided he stays in school after this year) and has an NCAA tournament game in a few days. Rating: Incomplete

Tim Ream: Ream barely touched the ball in his four minutes plus stoppage time at defensive mid. Rating: Incomplete

THE COACH

Jurgen Klinsmann: Are friendlies “all about the result”? No. Is it important in friendlies to not lose by three goals to the 61st-ranked team in the world’s “B” or perhaps “C” team? Um, yes.

Now that we can step back and assess, it’s fair to say that the U.S. has been horrendous since the World Cup. That is largely Klinsmann’s fault, player fatigue or not. Troublingly, his postgame comments are becoming increasingly irrelevant and blame-deflecting. “When you introduce new players into the group, there will be growing pains along the way,” he said after the game. That might be accurate in a January camp friendly, but not when nine of 10 starting outfield players were on the World Cup roster.

Things must change. This isn’t a style issue; it’s a performance issue. Emphasis on possession and passing out of the back or not, the U.S. was terrible on Friday against relatively weak opposition. That’s hardly acceptable with as many as seven first-choice players in the starting lineup. Rating: 2

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