The United States men’s national team rallied for a draw in a tense and chippy friendly with Ecuador on Friday, earning a 1-1 result in Austin, Texas.
Folarin Balogun’s equalizer came via a nice team play that ran through Tanner Tessmann, Timothy Weah, and Malik Tillman, none of whom would feel sheepish about their days in the Yanks’ dark blue shirt.
MORE — USMNT 1-1 Ecuador recap, video highlights
Mauricio Pochettino has more food for thought as his men backed up an impressive September win over Japan with this result against another Top 25 team (who was missing Moises Caicedo, to be fair).
So who starred and who slipped on Friday?
USMNT player ratings vs Ecuador
Matt Freese: 6.5 — Made amends for iffy positioning on Valencia’s admittedly-terrific shot with a pair of nice saves in the second half including a near-immediate answer to the equalizer.
Max Arfsten: 6 — More of the same. Electric moving forward, an absolute handful for opposing fullbacks. Still looks a bit scatterbrained when good attackers get into his defensive space.
Chris Richards: 7 — Some questioned his read of Valencia’s direction on the goal but the striker’s touch was clever and Richards recovered to push him to a tougher angle. Played his game while on a yellow and did well in the Ecuador third, too. Piled up a game-best 12 defensive contributions.
Miles Robinson (Off 63'): 6 — Some decent long passing and a few nice duels.
Tim Ream (Off 74'): 6.5 — Tidy in possession, kept the team organized from his perch in the back three.
Tanner Tessmann: 7 — Used his immense frame to advantage in a few situations and didn’t misread his lines in the USMNT’s equalizer.
Aidan Morris (Off 74'): 6.5 — Drew several fouls and his ambition jumped off the field. Unfortunately, it also helped open the field for Ecuador’s goal. Won the most duels in the match (8).
Timothy Weah (Off 74'): 7.5 — Adventurous and sharp in the duel, with a key role in the equalizer. Game-high 10 passes into the final third.
Weston McKennie (Off 63'): 6.5 — Joint-leader in passes into the final third when he subbed out of the match. Tidier than usual, looked energetic, and flashed an improved first touch, but otherwise somewhat quiet. That might be okay.
Malik Tillman: 8.5 — Got his assist while racking up a fantastic six created chances. A little one-dimensional in terms of effectiveness in each half but still put in his work in the USMNT third.
Folarin Balogun (Off 81'): 8 — The most impressive American No. 9 since prime Jozy Altidore? Took his shots and showed off pace and power. His goal coming with PSG star Willian Pacho on his back and beating MOTM keeper Hernan Galindez through a sliver of light at the near post is impressive.
Subs
Diego Luna (On 63'): 6 — A quieter day than usual for the Real Salt Lake star.
Alex Freeman (On 63'): 6.5 — Showed welcome speed in the back three.
Cristian Roldan (On 74'): N/A
Christian Pulisic( On 74'): N/A
Mark McKenzie (On 74'): N/A
Haji Wright (On 81'): N/A
