The US national team booked a place in Sunday's Gold Cup final by passing their semifinal test against Honduras with flying colors in a 3-1 win over Honduras in Arlington, Texas.
The Nats played one of their best first halves under Jurgen Klinsmann, with the attack proving more than fair value for two goals. When Honduras threatened to make a game of it after intermission, the US quickly squashed any notion of a comeback to post their 10th win in a row.
GK Nick Rimando (6.5) – Not at fault for the Honduras goal, Rimando actually had precious little to do. He did stand out for a couple moments of bravery, including a no-hands charge to usher a loose ball from his area.
RB Michael Parkhurst (6.5) – The Augsburg right back did well to keep his defensive corner quiet against some tricky wingers. Parkhurst also did plenty of solid possession work.
CB Clarence Goodson (7.5) – In his best USMNT outing since the victory in Italy 17 months ago, the center back did far more than keep his area tidy. Goodson often put the attack into action with long passing, such as the incisive ball that started the combo move for the opener and the precision long boot that earned him an assist on the capper.
CB Matt Besler(7) – The Sporting KC defender enjoyed perhaps his cleanest international performance. Besler made numerous clearances and moved the ball along safely all night.
LB DaMarcus Beasley (6) – Like Parkhurst, Beasley had his impact moving forward muted some by the threat of Honduras' wingers. He largely handled the defensive duties, though his foul set up the visitors' restart goal.
CM Kyle Beckerman (7.5) – It was an extremely sturdy display from the Real Salt Lake midfielder, if not his best in a US shirt to date. Beckerman was fastidious in moving the ball along and more reliable at breaking up opposing rushes than in recent games.
CM Stuart Holden (6.5) – Though none of his stabs at the big play worked out, Holden generally did well at keeping the US headed in the right direction.
RM Alejandro Bedoya (8) – Another player who enjoyed his finest USMNT match so far, Bedoya has likely induced nightmares for Honduras left back Juan Carlos García. His grade dropped a little for losing his mark on Honduras' goal, but let's focus his constantly being a nuisance in attack. He could have easily notched more than the two assists, the first of which required great hustle.
LM Jose Francisco Torres (6) – With the US attack often busy terrorizing the right side, Torres was left to do a lot of thankless dirty work. He wasn't always successful with it, but did help cause a few turnovers across midfield.
FWD Landon Donovan (8) – The finish for his first goal was terrific, the second quite routine. Before that, Donovan's sly genius set up the opener. If that wasn't enough, the L.A. Galaxy star made the Honduras backline work very hard for 72 minutes.
FWD Eddie Johnson (7) – Though his impact would later wane, the striker was rather "Jozy-esque" during the opening period. Johnson was as cool as you'd like on his goal, including the dummy that facilitated Donovan's breakaway pass.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (8) – The boss pressed all the right buttons and the team eased to their most impressive win in this Gold Cup. The senior side's movement, with and without the ball, is now pushing to reach the program's all-time best; of course, there are also stronger foes ahead and room for even more improvement. On a negative note, set piece defending still seems unorganized at times.
Substitutes:
LM Brek Shea (6) – The Stoke City winger didn't see much of the ball in his 23 minutes and wasn't overly smooth with it. However, he did fire a devilish early cross to set up one great scoring chance.
CM Mikkel Diskerud (6) – On to work the last half of the second frame, Mix was not quite as sharp with the ball as one would expect. That said, his tactical awareness curtails opposing moves without needing so many tackles.
FWD Chris Wondolowski (5.5) – The San Jose man seemed a shade off during his 18 minutes on the field.
