U.S. v Costa Rica

Jasontammyrobert Poole

over 10 years

Howard--Would expect him to save at least one of the last two goals. Neither was a howler, but he didn't play up to his usual level. Back line--Beasley wasn't very good--and was still the best. Orozco pushed forward and got caught out too often. I can accept that in someone with Beasley's speed and attacking threat, not in Orozco. Besler was terrible. He consistently failed to stay goalside. CR's third goal is on him. Defensive mid--Jones' play was a tale of two halves. He gave the ball up far too easily in the first half and seemed far too slow, not sure whether that was effort or recognition, but it was out of character. In the second half, his distribution was out of character. It was simple and effective. As befits a CL holding mid, he looked confident distributing the ball and facilitated the offense fairly well. Cameron was less effective offensively, but more less likely to give the ball away badly and looked faster. Not a great performance, but decent. Attacking Mids--FJ's performance was the reverse of Jones'. He was fairly effective in the first half and totally non-existent in the second. Zusi had probably his worst MNT performance in a while. Less helpful defensively and ill-fitted to how the US needed to attack without a target forward. LD was the US' MOTM. Less effective in the first half, he took over the offense in the second. Not coincidentally, that is when the US started to dominate the run of play. It seemed like every incisive pass was his. Forwards--Deuce was not terribly effective. He had one excellent moment. Ultimately, the combination of team tactics and his skills was poor. The US needed hold up play, not smart runs. Altidore was effective in his limited time. He gets docked a whole point for the foolish card. Johnson was more helpful to CR than to the US.