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Player Ratings

Diskerud, DeAndre Top Our Ratings on Landon's Night

Yes, the night belonged to Landon Donovan, but once we got past the 41st minute it became a different game of soccer. The battle is on for spots with the U.S. national team, and Blake Thomsen has our ratings.
BY Blake Thomsen Posted
October 11, 2014
9:35 AM

STARTERS

Brad Guzan: Guzan played quite well before conceding late to Enner Valencia’s violently dipping, knuckling, long-range effort. The temptation is to dock him for being so wrong-footed by the strike, but it would have taken an extraordinary effort to keep out Valencia’s blockbuster, so we won’t let that completely overshadow his excellent opening 85 minutes. Rating: 6

Timothy Chandler: As is often the case with Chandler, we got a healthy dose of quality but also a troubling error. Against Ecuador, it was a very poor challenge on a counterattack that nearly gifted the South Americans a goal, if not for a top save from Guzan. On the positive side, Chandler generally defended well and also got forward to good effect. He nearly assisted Jozy Altidore with a brilliant cross, and a mazy run could have won him a penalty with a stricter referee. Rating: 6

Michael Orozco: I questioned Orozco’s inclusion on this week’s ASN podcast, but the steady defender had a strong game before his withdrawal at the hour mark. It’s hard to see him earning serious minutes at center back moving forward, but his consistency and versatility will likely keep him in the picture. Rating: 6.5

John Brooks: Considering he’s been miles away from the Hertha Berlin first team, Brooks played rather well when rust would have been understandable. His positioning left a little to be desired at times, but all in all it was another fine performance from a man with a huge national team future. Rating: 6

Greg Garza: Garza was one of the stars of the night for the U.S., doing his job equally well in the attacking and defensive thirds of the field. He looks exceptionally comfortable for someone with just two U.S. caps. It’s certainly early, but the Club Tijuana regular looks to have as good of a chance as anyone to lock down the left back spot for years to come. Rating: 7

Alejandro Bedoya: As always, Bedoya worked very hard defensively and was generally tidy with his passing. A few giveaways in his own defensive half took a little shine off an otherwise solid 60 minutes. Rating: 5.5

Mix Diskerud: Diskerud is really starting to come into his own for the U.S., and he put together a complete performance against Ecuador. His well-taken fifth-minute goal was the obvious highlight, but perhaps as impressive was the consistency with which he picked out excellent forward balls to Altidore and others higher up the pitch. He even did his share of defensive work, tackling and intercepting well on a few occasions. Rating: 8

DeAndre Yedlin: Yedlin’s meteoric rise doesn’t look like it’ll be slowing down anytime soon. Making his first U.S. start (that seems impossible, doesn’t it?), Yedlin starred in a right midfield role, a position which seems to highlight his strengths and downplay his weaknesses. His composed assist to Diskerud caught the eye early, and his forays down the right were a thorn in Ecuador’s side all night long. Perhaps his best moment was an explosive inside run that culminated in a nifty through ball into Altidore, which nearly resulted in a second assist for the young Sounder. Rating: 8

Joe Gyau: We can only hope that reports suggesting that Gyau’s knee injury is just a sprain are accurate. The Dortmund winger looked lively before a very early injury withdrawal. Rating: Incomplete

Jozy Altidore: Harsh critics will point out Altidore’s failure to chest down and shoot on a second-half chance (he instead opted to head it across the face of goal), but focusing on that missed opportunity takes away from an excellent overall night. With more clinical finishing from Landon Donovan and Joe Corona, he could have had two assists, both via superb passes. He held the ball up well all night, and it’s a shame he didn’t come away with a goal or assist. Rating: 7

Landon Donovan: Donovan played a solid 41 minutes, nearly scoring on an instinctive header before cruelly striking the inside of the post minutes later. He also played a big part in the buildup for Diskerud’s goal, running and crossing well to the back post. But does any of that really matter? Tonight was a celebration, and it seemed like Donovan and the 30,000+ fans enjoyed every minute of it. Rating: LegenD

SUBSTITUTES

Bobby Wood: Soccer is a funny old game. Had Wood scored (or assisted) the 94th minute winner when it looked inevitable, we’d be praising his contributions. Instead, we’re left to rue his indecisive play with the game on the line rather than heralding his brilliant touch and cross that so nearly led to a Yedlin goal in the first half. After that moment of magic, he mixed the good and the bad on an intriguing second cap. Rating: 5

Joe Corona: Corona’s quality was evident, in terms of his vision and off-ball movement, but it didn’t really happen for him in terms of decisive contributions. His hesitant (and ultimately blocked) shot from Altidore’s excellent through ball left much to be desired, and a bad giveaway early in the second half nearly led to an Ecuador goal. Rating: 5.5

Alredo Morales: Morales followed up a strong cameo against the Czech Republic with another business-like performance in front of the back four. He hasn’t done anything that’s too awe inspiring yet, but he looks like one who could stick around for a long time. Rating: 6

Tim Ream: Ream looked comfortable from the moment he came on, blocking an early Ecuador effort (which was wrongly awarded as a goal kick) before producing the play of the day for a U.S. defender on a brilliant recovering block. He could do nothing about Valencia’s ridiculous long-range strike, which comfortably cleared the six-foot-one center back before dipping violently into the far corner. Rating: 6.5

Omar Gonzalez: Some shaky play made Gonzalez a big question mark ahead of the World Cup, but he has excelled for club and country ever since his colossal World Cup debut against Germany. Tonight he further confirmed his status as a first-choice center back moving forward. Rating: 6.5

Chris Wondolowski: Ecuador dominated the portion of the game that Wondo played, and he hardly saw the ball. Rating: Incomplete

THE COACH

Jurgen Klinsmann: Klinsmann again got his team to attack, especially in the first 60 minutes before the U.S.’s rhythm was upset by a slew of substitutions. Three points would have been nice, but he can’t do much to account for some U.S. wastefulness in front of goal. Rating: 6.5

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Blake Thomsen is a frequent ASN contributor. Follow him on Twitter and let him know what you think.

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