The USMNT closed off another year with a sour taste in its mouth, losing track of Italy’s Matteo Politano as the Azzurri finally found a way past American goalkeeper Ethan Horvath with a stoppage time winner in Belgium on Tuesday.
[ MORE: Match recap | 3 things ]
Starting XI
Ethan Horvath -- 8 -- Very good after a nervy moment early, the Club Brugge man will have shown a new coach he should be in consideration for the top job. Could do little on the goal.
Shaq Moore -- 7 -- Quite decent despite playing 4/5 of the match on his non-preferred left side.
Cameron Carter-Vickers -- 5.5 -- Beaten a couple of times, but a clean sheet against Italy in Europe is what it is.
Aaron Long -- 6 -- Left in no man’s land by Lletget in stoppage time.
Walker Zimmerman -- 7 -- The standout of a decent night for the three center backs, even chipped in with a header on goal in the first half.
Reggie Cannon (Off 76') -- 6.5 -- A decent performance with promising moments moving forward for the FC Dallas right back.
Kellyn Acosta (Off 83') -- 7 -- I though the Colorado Rapids midfielder was the Yanks’ best field player on the day, with quite decent service on set pieces to boot.
Marky Delgado (Off 62') -- 5 -- Inconspicuous
Tyler Adams -- 6 -- Busier than Delgado, but was a bit overran and will take this as a learning experience.
Christian Pulisic (Off 83') -- 6 -- Just fine. Saddled with either a second striker or 3+1 attacking midfielder role, Pulisic was understandably troubled by Leonardo Bonucci (though we have to imagine the Italian wasn’t happy to deal with him either).
Josh Sargent (Off 62') -- 5 -- Good energy, but clearly taking a step up in class from Werder Bremen’s reserves. Hesitated to pull the trigger to find Reggie Cannon’s adventurous run in the early second half.
Subs
Wil Trapp (On 62') -- 5 -- Looked confused at times in the middle of the park, troubling for a player who’s received plenty of time to get used to these situations.
Bobby Wood (On 62') -- 6 -- Just fine.
Jorge Villafana (On 76') -- 6 -- An improved performance from last week versus England, albeit in a cameo.
Sebastian Lletget (Off 83') -- 4 -- How a clean sheet is quickly undone against Italy: Lletget leaves Politano, who starts a quick exchange between Marco Verratti, Moise Kean, and himself to win it in stoppage time. Maybe harsh on a man who waited almost 2 years between caps, but true.
Romain Gall (Off 83') -- 6.5 -- Lively in limited time, Gall earned a corner with a wayward shot from distance (though his ensuing corner service left plenty to be desired).