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Player Ratings

Yanks Beat Dutch—But How Did Individuals Perform?

Yes, the Yanks defeated the Dutch. For this post, however, we're focused on the individual performances of the goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, and strikers. Here, Brooke Tunstall's Player Ratings.
BY Brooke Tunstall Posted
June 05, 2015
6:30 PM

THAT WAS A WEIRD ONE. Fun, historic, and memorable—but also weird.

The United States men's national team went toe-to-toe with the Netherlands, the third-place side at last year’s World Cup, falling behind 1-0 and 3-1 before rallying for an improbable 4-3 win in Amsterdam.

While there were times the high-powered Dutch seemed to have their way with a shaky U.S. defense and easily could have scored more, there were also large stretches of the match where Jurgen Klinsmann’s men had the better of play.

The biggest positive is that Klinsmann appears to have settled on a style of play that is both effective and suits the strength of the player pool. After much experimentation, it appears the U.S. plays best in a 4-4-2 with the midfielders alingned in a diamond and clogging the middle. 

This was effective in April’s 2-0 win over Mexico and the U.S. used it to some success today. Yes, it leaves the Americans exposed on the flanks, and to be sure, the Dutch took ample advantage of this. But it also makes the Yanks much more stout in the center of midfield. Just as importantly, it makes it easier for the team to maintain possession and create chances going forward.

There are still question marks defensively—the fullbacks, while doing well going forward, allowed too much space for crosses and the center backs seemed to forget at times that the Dutch have world-class strikers. Somehow Jan-Klaas Huntelaar was wide-open whenever he felt like it, and he made the U.S. pay. That will need to be addressed before next month’s Gold Cup but the counter to that is: No one in CONCACAF, even Mexico, has attackers like the Dutch.

Equally impressive is that the U.S. scored four goals without leading scorers Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, both of whom remained in the U.S. If the U.S. plays in the Gold Cup like they have the past two games, they should advance to their sixth straight final. 

To the player ratings... 

 

STARTERS

Brad Guzan

Rarely does a goalkeeper allow three goals and still get high marks but in his first U.S. game this year Guzan made several big saves, including a great one on Dutch master Robin van Persie in the 47th minute, and wasn’t at fault on any of the goals as he served notice that he’s ready to assume the national team's goalkeeper’s No. 1 shirt. Rating: 6.5

Brek Shea

An up-and-down night for the Orlando City man. Did well getting forward but should have scored on a one-v-one in the 33rd minute. Got caught out of position a couple of times and failed to put enough pressure on the cross that led to the second Dutch goal. Rating: 4.5 

John Brooks

Replays showed he wasn’t as at fault for as many of the U.S. goals as ESPN analyst Kasey Keller implied but wasn’t completely without fault, either. Still gets caught ball watching too much but is also very strong in the air. His well-struck goal after a strong and alert run that started the U.S. comeback can’t be ignored either. Rating: 5.5

Ventura Alvarado

It was a rough first half for the Club America man, who likely hasn’t faced anything close to the level of forward he matched up with Friday. Had a nice tackle to break up an attack in the 17th minute but completely lost sight of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and the veteran made him pay. Let’s call it a learning experience. Rating: 4

Timothy Chandler

Was very good going forward and involved in much of the U.S. attack down the right flank, using his speed well to add danger to the U.S. attack. Could have applied more pressure on the cross that led to the first Dutch goal and had a couple of other moments where he got stretched out of position and caused a defensive scramble. Rating: 5.5 

Kyle Beckerman

The ageless Real Salt Lake center mid—remember he was a teenager in Bradenton with the likes of the retired Landon Donovan and Bobby Convey—continues to show he’s part of the national team’s immediate future with another reliable outing. He had several clutch defensive plays that saved two goals, one when he tracked back in the 38th to break up a sure-fire Dutch goal and again with a goal-line clearance in the 47th. Rating: 6.5 

Alfredo Morales

In his biggest assignment yet in nine U.S. caps, Morales did not look out of place in central midfield, clogging the center of the park and serving as an outlet for the defense. Nothing outstanding but no glaring mistakes. And he enabled the U.S. to keep possession and prevent the Dutch from rampaging up the middle. Rating: 5.5

Fabian Johnson

A quiet game by his standards but he still managed to make a big impact. Began the game at right mid and his turn-and-cross earned an assist on the first U.S. goal. In the second half he shifted to left back and was solid defensively while allowing Jurgen Klinsmann to put fresher legs in midfield. Rating: 6

Michael Bradley

Once again the best U.S. player, burning loads of energy on both sides of the field. Gave the Dutch fits with his runs forward and was unlucky not to score when he hit the post and got a pair of secondary assists on the second and fourth U.S. goals—the second of which came after he fought off a tackle and did well to keep his feet. Rating: 7.5 

Aron Johannsson

Good hold-up play early but was otherwise disappointing as he rarely created much danger playing against the national team where he plays his club soccer. Rating: 5

Gyasi Zardes

Continues to be the find of the year for the U.S. as he scored his first-ever international goal when he deftly finished Johnson’s cross with the outside of his right foot to level the game at one. That said, with better finishing, he could have had a ha trick. And on another night he would have spent the flight home lamenting those unfinished chances. Rating: 6 

 

RESERVES

Michael Orozco

His 45-minute stint got off to a disastrous start when he lost Huntelaar on the second Dutch goal early in the second half. But he settled down nicely and was composed the rest of the game and broke up a couple of late Dutch chances. Rating: 5

Mix Diskerud

Didn’t do much on the score sheet but helped settle the U.S. after it went down 3-1 and had a chance go wide after some nice combination play while the U.S. was trying to rally. Rating: 5.5

DeAndre Yedlin

A throwback to last year when Yedlin was an impact player for the U.S. coming off the bench in midfield. Freed from the defensive responsibilities that come with playing right back, Yedlin gave the Netherlands fits with his speed and created several chances, including setting up the second U.S. goal with a nice cross to Brooks. Rating: 6

Danny Williams

Brought energy and bite to the U.S. when it was badly needed and the team seemed to feed off it. Was solid defensively and aggressive going forward and while his tying goal benefitted from a fortunate deflection, it was very well struck and Williams did well to corral the ball after a set-piece. Rating: 6

Bobby Wood

Even before scoring the winning goal, this was Wood’s best outing in a U.S. shirt as he was alert and on the same page as his teammates and helped create several scoring chances with well-timed runs. In terms of actual skill, his goal was actually the least-impressive of his plays but he showed smarts to make the run and finish with composure. Rating: 7 

Jordan Morris

The Baby Bull, who is still set to be a junior at Stanford this fall, made the most of his time, using his strength and pace to create a chance that ended in the corner kick that led to Williams’ goal. He then made a nice pass to Wood for the winning goal. This for a guy who joined the senior team from Toulon, France, where he led the U.S. U-23s to the third-place game of the Toulon Tournament. But we gotta ask, when does this kid ever go to class? Rating: 6.5

 

THE COACH

Jurgen Klinsmann

This space has given Klinsmann a lot of stick the past few years but he deserves huge plaudits for today’s game, both in his tactics and subs. The team never got down despite falling down by a pair of goals on the road against a Top Ten team and four of Klinsmann’s subs either scored or got an assist. Additionally, he appears to have settled on a winning formation to best utilize the U.S. midfield depth. Now, just get the centerback pairing sorted out! Rating: 8

Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.

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