While the US national team will be disappointed after leaking a late equalizer against rough-housing CONCACAF World Cup qualifying hosts Guatemala, their collective grade for the entire game came out just above passing.
The visitors did a lot of that in the contest, with 62 percent of the possession, almost twice as many passes as Guatemala and a conversion rate near 80 percent. However, their success moving the ball repeatedly stalled when the US reached attack position, with Clint Dempsey's moment of skill the only breakthrough.
Tim Howard (6) - The netminder was large and in charge most of the night, but none of the work was overly strenuous. Howard seemed to catch late sight of the equalizing free kick.
Steve Cherundolo (5.5) - The right back had some defensive issues in the first half. Cherundolo was better after the break and helped cause a bit of trouble by moving into attack well.
Clarence Goodson (5) - The Brøndby captain wasn't always guilty, but clearly had the ref's eye and was removed at halftime. Goodson was clean with the ball on the ground, but also got lobbed twice in bad positions.
Carlos Bocanegra (6.5) - The current Captain America provided his typical duo of leadership and hearty play in the US end. On one particular occasion, his help defense rescued Goodson from a real jam.
Fabian Johnson (6) - It was quite the eventful night for the adventurous winger-turned-left back. Johnson started brightly, then got badly burned twice inside the 39th minute. Only a moment later, he was marauding forward to assist Dempsey's goal. Finally, his unnecessary foul just above the US area teed up Marco Pappa's leveler. Let's just call it all even.
WATCH: Dempsey gives US the lead, Pappa free kick equalizes
Maurice Edu (5) - The Rangers midfielder had three phases to the game. Edu began quite well, especially in working from traffic. The middle half of the match was rife with missed tackles and rush-stalling passes. He gathered himself to close strong, but should have done better on his late chance to win the game.
Michael Bradley (7.5) - Though there weren't any highlight reel actions, the midfielder didn't put any feet wrong. Bradley's time-keeping and passing accuracy are great assets in these CONCACAF road cauldrons, and should he have had an assist late, but Jozy Altidore didn't read his pass.
Jermaine Jones (4.5) - The Schalke man took a solid beating and did some fine pressure valve work, no doubt. Still, Jones' possessions across midfield were a real letdown on the night. To be fair, he's being asked to produce too much offense.
Landon Donovan (6.5) - The LA Galaxy ace seemed just about to crack open the defense at several points during the evening. Donovan never quite pulled it off, but he generally kept things moving forward.
Clint Dempsey (7.5) - It took a while for Deuce to find a little space on the ball. On the goal, Dempsey did so with calm beauty. Later in the game, he dropped deeper to provide needed release points out of the back.
Herculez Gomez (6) - Until Dempsey scored, it had been Gomez that was causing Guatemala the most trouble. Eventually, he faded from view before departing.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (7) - For a guy coaching his first away match in World Cup qualifying in CONCACAF, the boss sure had his charges properly prepared for the type of game in store. And even if it didn't result in much playmaking, the attack did better at spreading the opposing defense than in the last two games. The only real red mark is the continuing lack of a natural playmaker in the midfield trio, which is a cause of the team's final third inefficiency.
Subs:
Geoff Cameron (6.5) - The halftime sub quickly tuned to the frequency of the game and stayed in Guatemala shirts until the whistle. Cameron was bona fide flypaper off the bench.
Jozy Altidore (5) - The sub striker came out ready to bang and could have won a penalty from a different ref. He also blew a chance at a tap-in when he stayed at the spot instead of charging the goal. Had he chosen the latter, a single touch to Bradley's sublime pass would have sufficed.
Kyle Beckerman (-) - A mere cameo.
