The US national team showed it could ring up a rout against a more resistant Gold Cup foe in a 5-1 quarterfinal win over El Salvador on Sunday that earned the attack several high marks.
With Landon Donovan as the architect of destruction, the USMNT eventually pulled away after finding themselves in a real scrap through the first hour of play.
As a periodic reminder, the grades are on a scale with "6" as average. Marks given are relative to time played, meaning a 15-minute "7" is less impressive than one earned over 90 minutes.
Nick Rimando (7.5) - It wasn't his busiest night ever, but the Real Salt Lake backstop found his standout moments. The back-to-back saves made sure his team didn't drop the early lead and Rimando was eventually worthy of a secondary assist for the long boot that led to Donovan's goal.
Michael Parkhurst (6) - It was a very uneven outing from the Augsburg man, who clearly lacked sharpness during the first quarter-hour. From there, he was more often causing troubles in the El Salvador end, such as when he helped set up the first US goal.
Clarence Goodson (6.5) - On the ball, the San Jose defender was solid in distribution and predatory on the opening goal. However, a couple of worrying moments at the back drop his grade a bit, most notably when he ditched the primary passing lane on Rimando's double save.
Matt Besler (5.5) - Though not often tested in 75 minutes, the Sporting KC center back was exposed as being too stationary on a few occasions. Besler was fairly safe handling the ball, though.
DaMarcus Beasley (6) - The veteran still shows he's really a rookie at left back on occasion, as evidenced on the naïve penalty foul. Beasley got forward to great effect all game long, but didn't produce much with the final ball.
Kyle Beckerman (7) - It was one of the better US outings for the midfielder, who repeatedly imposed himself in attack like never before at the international level. On the down side, some of El Salvador's danger rushes came when Beckerman neglected to shield the backline effectively.
Mikkel Diskerud (6) - The clinical header goal lifted his mark up to average following shift that saw his influence in the final third largely limited by the visitors. That being said, few US players successfully change the point of attack as well as Mix.
Joe Corona (7) - The Tijuana attacker, who bagged another cool finish for the winner, is now quickly maturing at this level. After a lights out first half, though, Corona was pretty quiet after the break.
Landon Donovan (8.5) - Yeah, he squandered a few opportunities, but who cares when there were so many with his fingerprints all over them? Those who doubted Donovan the USMNT star a month ago must be enjoying the crow.
Jose Francisco Torres (6) - Like Diskerud, the Tigres UANL ace spent much of his afternoon directing traffic well. Other than that, Torres was relatively quiet in helping the attack penetrate the away area before leaving in the 66th minute.
Chris Wondolowski (5) - One simple assist pass aside, Wondo was often either stranding himself from the offense or slowing it down. It didn't help his cause that Eddie Johnson replaced him with such a strong display.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (7) - There couldn't be too much to pan the boss over after this game, which saw stretches where the US ran wild. However, the continuing trend of subs easily outshining starters in half the time or less is one Klinsmann won't be able to get away with much longer.
Subs:
Eddie Johnson (7.5) - The Seattle forward was the the precise thing El Salvador did not want to encounter over the final half-hour. Johnson's first touch ended up in the back of the net, he later added an assist and that was far from the sum of his excellence.
Brek Shea (7) - As they say, he looked a bit of a menace after coming on for Torres. Like Johnson, the Stoke winger forced a tiring El Salvador defense to fold.
Michael Orozco Fiscal (6.5) - The late defensive sub didn't put a wrong foot in 15 minutes.
