No, it’s not just a bunch of zeroes...
The United States men’s national team sacrificed a 21-year winning streak against Guatemala and again put its 2018 World Cup hopes in jeopardy with a clunker in Guatemala City, losing 2-0 on Friday.
[ MORE: Match recap ]
How bad was it? Let us count the ways the Yanks’ first loss to Guatemala in 21 years let us down:
- Poor defending
- Poor passing
- Poor possession
- Poor shooting
- Extremely poor tactics
But, hey, Tim Howard was back. Onto the ratings:
Starting XI
Tim Howard -- 4 -- Wasn’t much he was going to do on either Guatemala goal, but those were also the only times he was really challenged. Would’ve loved to see Superman steal a point, but even one fantastic save wouldn’t have been enough for this impotent attack.
Edgar Castillo -- 5 -- Some good tackling, but not a lot going forward. Something to build on.
Omar Gonzalez (Off 66') -- 4 -- Poor. Just not as poor as his CB mate.
Michael Orozco (Off 59') -- 2 -- After totally losing Ruiz on the second Guatemala goal, Gonzalez glanced over at Orozco while chasing the striker as if to say, “Center back... you’ve played it recently?” Awful night. He’s not even playing for his club team, but Jurgen Klinsmann apparently thinks Matt Hedges is the singer of an indie band.
Geoff Cameron -- 6 -- Penny for his thoughts as he found himself at right back with a CAM in his preferred CDM role and two monumental disappointments at CB. Whoops. Funny how it all tightened up once he moved central.
Mix Diskerud (Off at HT) -- 3 -- If this were little league, Mix would get credit for working super hard (and probably a popsicle). This, however, is a World Cup qualifier. Out-of-position or not, Diskerud was poor.
[ OLYMPIC PLAYOFF: U.S.-Colombia recap | 3 things ]
Michael Bradley -- 4 -- Really struggled with his distribution, and his touch was off all night. Not a good night for the States’ best player.
Alejandro Bedoya -- 6 -- One of the lone bright spots for the first 70 minutes, he has to wonder where the form of, well, every one of his teammates went.
DeAndre Yedlin -- 4 -- Playing in an advanced position, Yedlin was essentially invisible. Slotted back at RB later in the contest, he was a bit more comfortable.
Bobby Wood -- 5 -- The only service he received was long balls. Hard to fault the Hawaii islander.
Clint Dempsey -- 4 -- Created a couple strong scoring chances, but you knew this wasn’t a vintage Clint night when he hit a beautiful chance to pull the Yanks within one right at Motta. Looked disinterested at times, but managed to inject some life into his match in the final 20 minutes
Substitutes
Darlington Nagbe (On at HT) -- 5 -- Started a very good bit of play that should’ve led to a Dempsey goal but failed to gain momentum and disappeared as the match dragged to its conclusion.
Gyasi Zardes (On 59') -- 5 -- Lively enough. Given the garbage casserole around him, he made his case to start on Tuesday.
Jozy Altidore (On 67') -- 5 -- Wish he was 90 minutes strong, but also wish he would’ve beaten Motta for that late goal. Great save, but still.