USA vs Costa Rica: US Team Player Ratings

The USA friendly with Costa Rica is not your typical friendly. This one is jam packed with much more intrigue. This is just the second match for the US squad under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and it is the first one for many prominent players.

This friendly will be played in Los Angeles, and is scheduled for September 2nd at 8 p.m. EST. This match can be live streamed on ESPN3.

This is the first of two upcoming scheduled friendlies. The US will next travel to the continent to take on Belgium on September 6th. These two contests will give us a chance to get a feel for what this team is going to look like under Klinsmann.

Some player's roles will be changing, and some will play more prominent roles. It will be exciting to see which players emerge as leaders.

That following five players are the ones I'll be watching most closely. After the match I will update this slider, and rate their performances.

Fabian Johnson

Fabian Johnson will be making his US debut after jumping the pond. He was previously manning the defense for German's U-21 team.

Johnson won't start this game, but I expect he will get plenty of time as Klinsmann integrates him to his new team.

Johnson is a promising young midfielder and he will show his skill right away. Johnson's first priority in this game will be stopping players like Alvaro Saborio.

I don't expect Johnson to show up on the stat sheet, but I do think he'll have a fine performance.

Update: Fabian's Johnson's debut was not a debut at all. Johnson is still awaiting FIFA approval to switch associations. He was not eligible to play in this contest.

Tim Howard

One player on this team whose role is not going to change is Tim Howard. It will be business as usual for the goalkeep. I don't expect Howard to get a lot of work in this one, but he should still get a few chances to make stops.

I expect Howard to notch a shutout in this one. If he can't, it will likely be more damning of the defense than Howard.

Update: Tim Howard was very solid in this match. He had three excellent saves and lots of solid play. On the one goal that was scored, Howard made a nice save, but couldn't stop the rebound attempt. There was little he could have done to prevent it.

Rating: 8

Jozy Altidore

The 21-year-old Altidore finally appears to have his promising career back on track. He is off to a fantastic start with his Dutch club, AZ Alkmaar. He has five goals in his first month in the Dutch league and he recently netted two goals on August 21st as AZ Alkmaar took down Aaselund of Norway 6-0 in the Europe League qualifiers.

Altidore is going to be working hard to convert his chances into goals. Something the US team will be eager to assist him with. They need his goal scoring potential to help lift an offensive attack that too often sits stagnant.

Update: Altidore's performance was lackluster to say the best. He obviously didn't score, since the US was shut out, and Altidore wasn't even particularly close to scoring.

Rating: 3

Landon Donovan

Donovan certainly had his moments of frustration playing under Bob Bradley. Let's see if he can put those behind him and carve out his spot under Klinsmann.

This will be an especially big match for Donovan. Donovan may be used in a central playmaking role; a role that may be filled by Clint Dempsey when he joins the team for the September 6th match.

I expect a fine performance from Donovan, and at least one assist as he will be busier creating action for others than scoring goals for himself.

Update: Donovan was pathetic. He blew an easy goal on what proved to be the US' best chance to score. His free kicks lacked, and his passing wasn't crisp.

Ranking: 2

Jurgen Klinsmann

We can't let the new coach slip out of the spotlight. Klinsmann is an experienced coach, and I certainly don't expect any game management gaffes.

But he is still getting to know these players, and learning which buttons to push. He needs to put these players in a position to succeed. And find a way to spark the offense.

Update: This was a bad showing for the new boss. He ran out a lineup that was essentially five defenders and five attackers. It back fired. His decision to stick with Edgar Castillo at left back also did not pan out.

Klinsmann is trying to switch philosophies, and the US is slow to take to it. This was a bad loss.

Ranking: 4