Rating the US Players Against Belgium

It was an evening of soccer that US national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann will almost certainly hope to forget. 

The forgiving 4-2 scoreline was not truly representative of how dominated the Yanks were for a good portion of their home friendly against Belgium.

The issues were evident: poor defensive communication and spacing, not enough link-up play between the midfielders and strikers and a lack of defensive pressure in the midfield third. 

Mostly, though, it become all the more clear just how much this team needs the likes of Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan to operate against the best in the world.  Bradley's work rate, physicality and expert distribution was sorely missed.  And the explosive counterattacking game that Donovan brings to the table was lacking. 

Here are the player grades.

Starting 11

Tim Howard (4)

Howard did not shower himself in glory on the first goal, missing an opportunity to smother the play dead.  He was okay otherwise but seemed to have trouble effectively communicating with his back line.

Geoff Cameron (4)

Extra points for creating enough space to calmly head home the game-tying goal off a corner kick, but Cameron was otherwise too errant in distribution.  Outside full-back is not the Stoke City man's strong suit, and it showed against Belgium. 

Omar Gonzalez (3)

Gonzalez was over-matched against a deadly dangerous Belgium attack.  His positioning was off, and he made some poor, nervy decisions with the ball.   This match was a good lesson for the young center back in just how good some of these international powerhouses can be.

Clarence Goodson (2.5)

Simply out of sync and outclassed.  Goodson had ad difficulty keeping track of the barrage of black shirts always entering his zone and was not on the same page as his partner, Gonzalez. 

DaMarcus Beasley (5)

The best American defender overall in his 100th game for the USMNT.  Beasley showed he could tackle in isolated defensive situations, hustled and reminded of his still formidable pace.  He was clearly the defender most capable of dealing with such a talented opponent.  The left-back role is probably his for the foreseeable future. 

Graham Zusi (4.5)

Zusi had a solid performance in terms of covering ground and working defensively but lacked the sort of willingness to take on defenders and create on his own that makes him such an asset to the team.  Another example of a younger international player not used to seeing such immense soccer talent.

Sacha Kljestan (3)

This match was indicative of why Kljestan, despite sporting classy technique, struggles to get minutes at the international level.  Kljestan simply could not compete physically against some of the stronger Belgian midfielders.  The result was an inability to find the ball in dangerous spots and an evening wherein he was somewhat invisible.

Jermaine Jones (6)

The best midfielder for the USMNT, easily.  Jones was cultured in possession and at times showed flashes of "Pirlo-like" passing skills, floating easily received balls to teammates with grace.  And he did the work, too, consistently tracking back to break up Belgian attacks. 

Brad Davis (4)

 Dangerous on corners per usual and confident in possession, no question.  But the U.S. was mostly toothless in attack, where Davis should shine.  The left midfield spot is likely still up for grabs. 

Clint Dempsey (5)

Perfect execution on his assist, heading back a deep corner to Geoff Cameron.  And his penalty finish was solid, too.  So Dempsey deserves credit for his part in the U.S.' two tallies.  But apart from those moments, he did not impact much of the game and was a bit too careless in passing.

Jozy Altidore (3)

Another frustrating evening in a USMNT shirt for Altidore, who cannot seem to find a break at the international level recently.  He had a few half-chances that he could not convert and struggled to find any sort of service.  The result was a wandering Altidore, something the tactically desperate Yanks did not benefit from.

Substitutes

Eddie Johnson (5)

Johnson did what Johnson does: try and beat defenders off the dribble whenever possible.  Johnson offered flashes of danger and served some beautiful balls and crosses, too.  An overall decent performance for a U.S. attack that was inactive. 

Brad Guzan (3)

 Guzan was under tons of pressure but did not do anything spectacular and probably could have done better on at least one of the Belgian goals.

Terrence Boyd (3)

Boyd was judged mostly by his inability to corral possession after a cleared corner, which lead to a goal almost after immediately coming on.  He chased the ball hard to try and win it back but was not dangerous and did not find himself with the ball going forward. 

Matt Besler (5)

Besler made some solid recovery tackles in tight spots and was mostly tidy in possession.

Brad Evans (4)

Not much to speak of in regards to Evans' performance as he rarely saw the ball in his 21 minutes of action. 

Stuart Holden (N/A)

Likely thrilled to be back after injuries have left him out of USMNT for years now; Holden did not receive enough minutes to be judged fairly. 

Head Coach

Jurgen Klinsmann (5)

Biggest beef with the lineup is leaving out Besler after he and Gonzalez did so well together against Mexico.  He was correct to stick with Altidore, who has been on a tear for his club and is clearly getting the best out of Jones.  The U.S. was, quite frankly, bossed by one of the most highly regarded teams in the world.