USA vs. Ecuador: Winners and Losers from International Friendly

Landon Donovan was always going to be the story of the United States men's national team's friendly with Ecuador. From the moment Donovan announced that this match would be his last in an American shirt, the primary takeaway would be how his storied career ended.

But to the surprise of this correspondent, anyway, the number of issues that sprung from this seemingly mundane friendly were numerous and worthy of discussion. Here are your winners and losers from United States 1, Ecuador 1.

WINNER: LANDON DONOVAN

Short of actually scoring, Donovan did everything anyone could have asked of him in this match. He hit a post in open play, coming agonizingly close to getting that goal the American supporters in the stands so desperately wanted to see.

Beyond that, he was gracious and apparently humbled by the adulation he received and the enormity of the moment. He participated meaningfully and thoughtfully in ESPN's halftime feature, which was basically Alexi Lalas, Kasey Keller and Bob Ley hammering him with questions of all kinds. Donovan even shared a respectful moment with Klinsmann as he left the pitch. That could not have been easy for the star player.

Fairly or not, Donovan has a reputation for dancing to his own drumbeat. On this night, though, he was all the American supporters (and ESPN) could have asked for.

WINNERS: LALAS AND KELLER

Lalas' first question of the halftime interview with Donovan was cold-blooded. Lalas prefaced the question by noting that Donovan had said he felt that he deserved this farewell match in East Hartford, Connecticut then asked him why he felt that way.

That took some marbles. Most presenters in that spot would open with a softball in the "how did it feel out there tonight, Landon?" vein. Not Lalas. Right into Donovan's kitchen.

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After Donovan parried that question with a vanilla answer about how anyone would want the chance to feel the support he was receiving on the night, Keller dove right in and asked him why, at 32, he felt the need to retire from international football when he was clearly still an elite American player.

Again, Donovan had to tap dance. The correct answer would have been to say that Keller, Lalas and everyone else knows that Donovan would never choose to play for Klinsmann again after being left off the 2014 World Cup team. But he handled it gracefully with some pablum about wanting to spend time with family, etc. Don't you believe it.

LOSER: JOE GYAU

Gyau is not a loser for getting injured. Injuries happen. He is a hard-luck loser on the night because, with Donovan scheduled to leave after 30 or so minutes, Gyau stood to play a long time and perhaps make his mark on the American side. 

American supporters (and Borussia Dortmund fans) can only hope the report Gyau "left the field on crutches, his left knee wrapped in ice," per Nicholas Mendola of NBCSports.com, looks worse than it is.

WINNER: JOZY ALTIDORE

Maybe you can figure out why Altidore plays so well for the USMNT and so impotently for Sunderland. I have a theory, but it is not going to be popular.

I am starting to think that Altidore is Crash Davis, i.e., dominant at the international level where the sides are often not too cohesive and where Altidore's speed and strength set him apart. But at the highest levels of club soccer, where the talent level is higher and clubs can mark him with one man, he disappears.

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In any event, none of that should dim how great Altidore played against Ecuador, because he was spectacular in this friendly. With just average finishing from his teammates, Altidore would have had one assist and perhaps even two. He was everywhere he was supposed to be, and his touch was splendid.

That trip back to Sunderland is going to be a real heartbreaker for Altidore.

LOSER: JURGEN KLINSMANN

Right, so it is a friendly, and the result does not count toward any sort of tournament qualifying, etc. That does not excuse Klinsmann's failure to have his side kill the game once the USA team still had a one-goal lead with 20 minutes left. 

Ecuador are not the most potent team in world soccer. Basic, organized defending with Altidore and later Chris Wondolowski hanging around at midfield would have had a much better chance to secure the victory than what Klinsmann had the Americans do: open the game up and run with a more athletic side.

Give the coach credit for scheduling a competitive side like Ecuador in this friendly, but dock him for undermining the value of playing that team by failing to secure the win.

WINNER: ENNER VALENCIA

So it was written in this space, so it came to pass. Valencia is a rising star, soaring at a similar speed and with comparable trajectory to the curving Exocet he launched past a flatfooted Brad Guzan.

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"(W)hat a shot it was!! It dipped and swerved, almost Ronaldo-like, and beat Guzan totally. What an excellent effort," Tim Hill wrote for The Guardian.

N.B. to Klinsmann: When you are sitting on a one-goal lead with two minutes left in regulation time and the opposing team has exactly one difference-making player, you should put a defender on him. Maybe next time.

LOSER: BOBBY WOOD

It feels a bit wrong to pick on the kid, but Wood looked unsure of himself the entire time he was on the pitch. In baseball it is said that the ball always finds the fielder who least wants it.

That happens in soccer, too, as Wood found himself one-on-one in the box with the goalkeeper at the death only to try a dicey touch pass across the face of goal to Wondolowski. The pass never got there, the chance was lost and the whistle sounded.

For this young American side, these friendlies are invaluable learning experiences. Undoubtedly, Wood came away from this match learning the lesson to shoot first when in doubt.