Only a few exceptions escaped the report card red pen after yet another pair of late US national team leaks allowed home side Denmark to rally for a deserved 3-2 friendly win on Wednesday night.
Before the scoreline flip came in the final seven minutes, the Nats only held their slim lead thanks to a pair of surprise strikes featuring Jozy Altidore. Eventually, mistakes piled up on top of mistakes at the back and coach Jurgen Klinsmann was never able to change the tide.
Nick Rimando (5.5) - The Real Salt Lake veteran contributed a few early punches of decent effect and a nice save shortly after the break, but he really had to come off the line on Denmark's second. Rimando's distribution ran hot-and-cold.
Timothy Chandler (4) - Let's get the good stuff out of the way first: Chandler had plenty of impact across midfield, including an assist of the variety the USMNT could use a lot more. In his own end, though, Chandler was among the guilty on the first two Denmark goals. He routinely had issues with focus, intensity of effort, and as is often the case, communication.
Michael Orozco (6) - While he could have been more proactive, the Puebla defender was probably the main reason Denmark only scored once before he left the field. With his passing game providing much-needed pressure escapes, Orozco shined early with three pass picks in the area and a big cover play. On the down side, he was the last man that failed to stop Denmark's passing move on their first equalizer.
John Brooks (4.5) - At times, Brooks can take passive lines toward a situation and this trait flared up on both the Denmark opener and the late winner. The Hertha Berlin defender also will be kicking himself for a while after squandering a golden chance to tie the game with a late restart header that was served on a platter. It wasn't all bad; the still-developing youngster also completed 10 passes into the attacking half while leading the Nats with six clearances and five pass picks.
Greg Garza (3) - Aside from a handful of decent passes into attack and an excellent help swipe in the box, this was a nightmare outing for the young left back. In addition to being at fault on the first two goals and having his pocket picked in terrible spots a couple of times, Garza saw nine centering feeds of all stripes come out of his small corner in the first 65 minutes.
Michael Bradley (6.5) - One of the few Americans with a successful passing night, Bradley notched another assist with one of his patented lob feeds. He probably could have done a lot more on both sides of the ball given a third central midfielder to cancel Denmark's numerical superiority in the middle.
Alejandro Bedoya (5) - That last Bradley remark can also apply to Bedoya to some extent. Still, after an early stretch of defensive bite, the Nantes man's all-around play became quite timid by his standards. That pair of bad turnovers in his own end near the break was also out of character.
Gyasi Zardes (3) - Given 67 minutes against his toughest foe to date, the Galaxy ace showed he still has plenty of growing to do. The winger managed to complete only three forward passes on the night and generally looked fawn-ish on the ball. He was also was derelict in tracking back duties, making two errors (lazy line hold, then absent back post marking) on the first Denmark goal. Let's call it a major learning experience.
Fabian Johnson (4) - The big disappointment is the 'Gladbach winger did next to nothing offensively. Johnson did offer some early defensive help, but that part of his game waned badly. He was among those at fault on the first leak and left at the break.
Aron Jóhannsson (5) - It was a solid finish for the forward on his return to the old AGF Aarhus stomping ground, but Jóhannsson really needs to raise his hold-up game, especially if he wants to play in a two-striker set for the national team. In 19 months, we still haven't figured out how he fits into this team.
Jozy Altidore (7) - The No. 17 shirt amply displayed his intellectual style to notch a goal and an assist. He seemed the only one in tune with Chandler's cross, which he followed with a cruel strike. On the helper, the striker was calm as could be standing right on front of goal. Altidore was only mildly effective aside from the goal plays; then again, he did go nearly 34 minutes smack dab in the middle of the contest without receiving a pass in the attacking half. Some folks will hate it, but the reality right now is that Jozy is a level or two above everyone else in the attack stable when Clint Dempsey is out. Even with Deuce, nearly every meaningful advance still goes through him.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (3.5) - While not laying everything at the coach's doorstep, he deserves a fair share of blame for both the overall performance and the result. The tactics remain confused; the team starts out in a counter-attacking set, but looks like it wants to kick around. This, of course, is not a great plan when running two central park rangers against three – much less when one of them is Christian Eriksen. This situation is compounded by the fact that the drastic personnel experimentation since the World Cup has seen team cohesion reduced to "Pleased to meet you, too" levels.
Perhaps more disturbingly, Klinsmann seems to have completely lost his previous touch with in-game adjustments. The halftime changes essentially changed nothing. The formation was never adapted despite an obvious need, and the same could be said about dealing with Eriksen. And constant nuisance Lasse Vibe. And Bendtner. Even when it works, the tactical intent here has all become rather curious.
Subs:
Alfredo Morales (5) - The first several minutes of his second half shift were rather harrowing. Then, Morales got cool on the ball, completing 20 straight passes and 23 of 24 overall. The Ingolstadt midfielder certainly could have done more to help slow down the Danes, though.
Brek Shea (5) - After entering at the break, Shea put a pair of dangerous balls into the box and added a few helpful defensive plays. However, there were also some big mistakes at the back that made things worse on a left side already being overrun.
DeAndre Yedlin (4) - It was a fairly empty half of a half for the Spurs youngster. Yedlin failed to help the defense and all seven of his completions were back-passes.
Rubio Rubin (6) - The FC Utrecht teen attacker completed all four of his passes and provided a game physical effort in his 23 minutes, but still needs to grow either stronger or wilier to excel at this level.
Ventura Alvarado (3) - Let's hope this was just a thankless situation for a debut, coming on late to hold the lead away on a pitch that managed to be both slick and bumpy at the same time. Alvarado seemed a bit lost on the equalizer and later had to take a yellow card to cover his own bad giveaway, handing Eriksen a prime free kick shot.
