Things went from bad to worse with the
US national team's penalty kick shootout defeat against Panama
in Saturday's Gold Cup bronze medal match, and most of the line-up report cards reflect the resulting disappointment.
Though one might have expected the Nats to come out for this contest in a punishing mood after
Wednesday's semifinal loss to Jamaica
, the team looked barely awake until second half subs
Clint Dempsey
and DeAndre Yedlin combined to cancel out a galling Roberto Nurse opener. The CONCACAF rivals then opened up in search of a winner, trading unsuccessful blows until Panama scored the TKO on spot kicks.
Brad Guzan (7.5) -
The Aston Villa backstop rebounded from some semifinal woes, keeping his side in the contest on a few big occasions. Guzan came up with a pile of saves in regulation and one that could have been huge in the shootout. He also pitched in with various punches and smart distributions, especially in the second half of overtime.
Timothy Chandler (5.5) -
It wasn't a bad outing from the right back, who provided some useful pushes into attack when the team was chasing the leveler, and then the winner.
Omar Gonzalez (5) -
The Galaxy defender was not overly busy, and yet he still had a couple nervy moments.
John Anthony Brooks (3.5) -
The Hertha Berlin center back completely lost the plot when Nurse busted into the area to score. It was certainly not the only time he looked lost out there today.
Tim Ream (5.5) -
Finally given a left back shot with the Nats, Ream was far too gentle in confronting Nurse on the Panama goal play. Aside from that episode, Ream was solid enough and pitched in with a big line clearance.
Joe Corona (4) -
Miscast as a midfield gatekeeper, Corona had his head turned by Panama traffic several times. He was also more shaky on the ball than usual.
Graham Zusi (4.5) -
While he was not untidy, plenty more was needed from Zusi on both sides of the ball.
Fabian Johnson (4.5) -
The 'Gladbach ace was rather quiet in the first half, but picked up his game a bit after the break. Then, Johnson made the classic form error of leaning back as he skyed his shootout attempt over the bar.
Michael Bradley (4.5) -
The addition of "become the lead playmaker" to his laundry list of regular duties is now dulling his game al over the field. Despite the struggles, Bradley still came through with the lob pass needed to light off the US goal play. He is not dinged here for the shootout failure, as he was deftly robbed by the netminder.
Chris Wondolowski (3.5) -
Where's Wondo? A hat, glasses and thick-striped shirt may not have helped with the search. The one chance he had to make an impact ended in a wide header he'd normally bury.
Aron Jóhannsson (5.5) -
The team hardly seemed to notice the AZ Alkmaar forward was out there until Dempsey arrived. There was some nice hold-up play, but he can do more.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (2) -
In many ways, the boss was spared from blame in this space following the semifinal loss. There will be no repeat. The midfield mess can be directly traced to improper staffing. Should second-cycle managers be fiddling with shapes so much? Should it take so long to detect when trying to shove square pegs into round holes isn't working? No and no. A year after escaping a World Cup group of death, the team has regressed into one that's too impatient with the ball and too often disorganized without it. Most shockingly, there seemed to be little fight in a side that had every reason to take out anger on Panama.
Subs:
Clint Dempsey (7.5) -
The engine that could, did. Again. Many players would not bury such a measured equalizing finish in that position. Many players do not chug-chug-chug for the destination like our own Driver 8.
DeAndre Yedlin (7) -
His execution of the spinning pull-down and assist to Dempsey scored high on both artistic and technical merit. Other than that, it was a rush down the flank here, the odd minor miscue there and quite the feeling all over that the team did not utilize the freshest fresh-legs sub imaginable near enough.
DaMarcus Beasley (5) -
There were a couple of nice veteran plays from "Da Beas" that were outnumbered by mistakes. It would be a real shame if his USMNT career ended on that feckless try at a do-or-die penalty.
