USA vs. Canada: Winners and Losers from International Friendly
The United States men's national team closed out its annual winter training camp with a 1-0 victory over Canada on Friday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Jozy Altidore scored the winning goal with an 89th-minute header, ending a night of attacking frustration for the hosts, who often struggled to break down Canada's back line and beat goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. Altidore's goal was his 33rd with the national team, moving him to third place all-time in team history.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from Friday's international friendly.
Winner: Jozy Altidore
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Before he scored his goal, Jozy Altidore was already having a pretty decent night. His finishing had let him down until the closing minutes, but his movement and linkup play were solid, and he posed a consistent threat in Canada's end.
But after squandering a few chances, the 26-year-old striker needed to convert an opportunity. He did so in the 89th minute, planting a firm header past Maxime Crepeau, who was excellent in Canada's goal all night.
It's still early, but Altidore's performances so far in 2016 suggest he's put his disappointing 2015 behind him.
Loser: Jermaine Jones
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Playing Jermaine Jones at center-back is a poor idea. You know it. We know it. At his point, even Jurgen Klinsmann must know it.
Jones is a favorite of Klinsmann's, but let's tell it straight. Even when he plays in midfield, he loves to bomb forward, often leaving his side exposed to counterattacks.
After featuring in the midfield against Iceland, the 34-year-old veteran slotted in at center-back for Canada's visit to the StubHub Center. Now, the U.S. didn't allow any goals on Friday night, but that doesn't mean Jones did well in the back line. At all.
In the 20th minute, Jones got away with a reckless challenge on Cyle Larin that should have resulted in a penalty kick for Canada. Throughout the first half, he positioned himself poorly and made several ill-advised challenges. Late in the half, after he was drawn out of position making an overlapping run (!), Matt Besler had to stop a quick attack and take a yellow card for the team.
"Well at least it's good to get further confirmation that the Jermaine Jones at center back experiment was unwise,' tweeted Thomas Floyd.
Please, Klinsi. No more. We're begging you.
Winner: Maxime Crepeau
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Jozy Altidore headed in the winning goal in the 89th minute, but that doesn't change the fact that Maxime Crepeau was the star of the match.
Crepeau, 21, made 12 saves in Canada's goal. For 89 minutes, he kept his side in the match by turning away attack after attack.
Were any of his saves world class? Probably not. But Crepeau was very steady for the visitors. His best save might have been in the 83rd minute when he scampered back to clear an Altidore chip after the U.S. attacked at pace. He also tipped over Michael Bradley's Olimpico-style corner kick early in the second half and stopped Altidore on multiple occasions.
At 0-0, Crepeau was undoubtedly the man of the match. Even after his side lost by a single goal, you could still make an argument for it.
Winner: Ethan Finlay
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Ethan Finlay had been on the pitch for all of 60 seconds when a pass came his way along the left touchline in the 89th minute. As it turned out, that was plenty of time for the Columbus Crew midfielder to acquaint himself with the pace of the match.
After taking possession, Finlay burned Doneil Henry with a step to his right and curled an inch-perfect cross to the back post for Jozy Altidore. From the edge of the six-yard box, Altidore powered in the winning goal with a header.
Until then, the U.S. had squandered several good chances to break through with the opening goal over 88-plus minutes. Finlay fixed that in a hurry.
Loser: Jurgen Klinsmann
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Jermaine Jones at center-back? Three central defenders in the four-man back line?
If we're being generous, we might say that Jurgen Klinsmann's choices for the back line were curious. For those who have watched the U.S. under Klinsmann over the last several years, they were frustrating but not the least bit surprising.
As John D. Halloran tweeted, Friday's game represented the 27th straight time Klinsmann has made at least one change to his back four. Now, that might be fine for a few games in a row but 27? And it might not make a difference in a meaningless friendly, but what about the other 26?
"No. 1 problem with Jurgen Klinsmann is that he doesn't think ahead," Halloran added. "This was foreseeable. Original January camp roster had 5 defenders on it."
Klinsmann is always tinkering, no matter the stage, and that limits cohesion within the team. In the back line, where chemistry and familiarity are so important, that's even more damaging than it can be elsewhere on the pitch.
His lack of foresight didn't cost the U.S. on this night (and even if it had, this was only a friendly). But as we saw last summer in the Gold Cup, the U.S. simply has no continuity at the back.
