From pretty much the opening whistle, the US withstood quite a bit of pressure.
The pressure came often and was relentless from the Columbians; especially after Columbia started playing the ball through James Rodriguez, after he found space running off of Kyle Beckerman’s shoulder throughout the match.
The US mostly relied on Alejandro Bedoya for their attack, as he was consistently the most dangerous player on the field. It was the attacking of Bedoya that led to the Columbian handball… well that and Rubio Rubin’s shoulder to the back of Pablo Armero in the box that sent the Colombian defender flailing his arms in an attempt to draw the foul. He instead conceded a penalty…
… that Jozy Altidore was more than obliged to convert.
Bedoya pretty much remained the main source of attack for the US, until Lee Nguyen came in and combined with attackers in the teeth of the Columbian defense. There just wasn’t much attacking in this match for the US as they pretty much defended the entire game.
On the first Columbian goal, Carlos Bacca simply ran off of Rodriguez’s pass and tapped it passed Guzan and then in for a goal.
Teo’ Gutierrez staying in the offside position, appears to have impeded Beckerman’s attempt to close down Bacca. Unfortunately for the US, the refs didn’t think so at the time. Judging from where Beckerman was in the video, it doesn’t look like he would have gotten there anyway.
On the second Columbia goal, Gutierrez’s head connects with Edwin Cardona’s cross, after he beat Julian Green to the back post area.
Green’s suspect defending aside, it was a great individual effort from both Cardona and Gutierrez on the goal.
USMNT Player Grades: Defending Colombia
Player Ratings (10)
Brad Guzan #1 (7): Guzan went largely untested throughout the first half. Most of Columbia’s shots were either blocked by defenders or clear misses. His first save came at the 64’ mark; he made a couple of nice saves after that.
Greg Garza #3 (7.5): Garza wasn’t able get forward much in the first half, as he spent most of his time defending Cuadrado’s runs. Did well to absorb much of the constant pressure Columbia put on the back line.
John Brooks #6 (7.5): Brooks was very solid early on, as he paired well with Jermaine Jones in the first half. Throughout the game, he kept defenders in front of him and was rarely beaten.
Jermaine Jones #13 (7): Jones was lucky to not concede that penalty in the first half, but was solid defensively otherwise. He cleaned up quite a bit of mistakes, and did well to pick up missed runners as they ran through the teeth of the midfield.
Deandre Yedlin #2 (6.5): Yedlin defended well in the first half, but couldn’t get forward as much as he wanted. He had a couple of bad giveaways in the second half, after he switched to the wing. He was, as always, very fast.
Kyle Beckerman #15 (6.5): Beckerman was largely solid passing, and almost had an assist to Rubin in the first half. He had his hands full with the Columbian Attack throughout, but much more so in the second half.
Mixx Diskerud #10 (5.5): Mixx never really looked comfortable on the ball and had some pretty inaccurate passes and bad giveaways all game long. He became absent on the defense much of the second half when Columbia started sending numbers forward through the midfield.
Fabian Johnson #23 (5.5): I often forgot Johnson was playing, aside from his couple of bad giveaways in the first half that nearly led to a couple goals. Played well defensively in the second half, and even made a couple of nice passes. He was absent otherwise.
Alejandro Bedoya #11 (8): Bedoya was dangerous getting forward early on, and defended well when he had to. At times, he was the only player getting forward in attack; he also created the play that led to the handball in the first half, for the US’s only goal. (My Man of the Match)
Rubio Rubin #9 (7): Rubin didn’t get very many opportunities on the ball, but did well enough to be dangerous with what he got. Though he missed some clear chances that he created with his off the ball movement, he had a promising start.
Jozy Altidore #17c (7): Altidore held up the ball when called upon, but along with Rubin didn’t see it very often. He spent most of the night defending, and turned in an all-around gritty game.
Subs
Bobby Wood #19 (7): Wood looked dangerous in relief; solid performance.
Alfredo Morales #4 (6): I saw Morales enter the field and that is basically it.
DeMarcus Beasley #7 (7.5): Beasley defended well in relief, as well as got forward a few times.
Lee Nguyen #8 (8): As soon as Nguyen stepped on the field, he looked more dangerous and involved on both defense and in attack in his 12 minutes of relief than Mixx was all game. He created a chance and sent in dangerous service on set pieces.
Julian Green #16 (6.5): Green was late closing down his man on the second Columbian goal, and did very little else.
Jurgen Klinsmann (6.5): Even though this was a good test for his backline that defended heroically throughout, I left this match scratching my head. If he was playing to win, Mixx needed to leave sooner. If he was playing to develop, then why use Beckerman and Jozy the full 90. I hope he got something out of this.
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