HalfSpaces Player (+/-) Grades: USMNT vs Jamaica (3/25/21)

The USMNT is making progress. Not that Jamaica was the best team we’ll ever play, but the way the team played was very encouraging to me. It looks like they know how to deal with the press, they’ve got some serious athletes/talents at several positions, and it was legitimately fun to watch for long stretches.

I wrote a whole article about taking time to enjoy the ride, but this team really seems like it could be pretty dang good in the not too distant future. The performance wasn’t flawless, but getting to see a large chunk of our best players out there together was encouraging.

Grading Beverage: Buffalo Trace bourbon (a little hard to come by, but quite good and not too expensive $25-30)

If you haven’t read one of these USMNT (+/-) Player Grades articles before click here for an explanation of the system.

Grades

MOTM – Gio Reyna (+13)

Apparently there are people out there saying Reyna played poorly? I don’t read or listen to anything until I’m done with these things so I’m not sure what the basis for that opinion is, but I strongly disagree. Sure – his body language is less than ideal, but if you watch the game back you’ll see Gio looking a lot more like he did for Dortmund a couple months ago than how he looked for the USMNT back in November.

He combined well around the box, found space, and created off the dribble. He has a way of stepping/gliding past opponents that makes it look effortless. If his finishing had been better he could have had two or three goals on the night. As it was, he drew fouls, created chances and has a touch on the ball that not many others on the team can match. Look at the touch pass here to help break the press and get out on the break:

Pulisic wasn’t at the top of his game tonight, but if we can get him and Reyna going at the same time…look out.

Other Positive Performances

Sergino Dest (+12)

What should I say about this guy? La Liga has a crap tv deal with beIN Sports so I don’t get to watch him as often as I’d like, but Dest is one of those flair players that makes watching soccer fun. Sometimes I make little comments in the event log as I’m scoring the game. Here’s a selection from Dest’s portion of the log:

Just looking at the notes tells you this man is a joy to watch. He slowed down in the second half, but at this point I don’t care if he plays left or right back. Put him on the field and let him go. He’s good on defense, press resistant in the extreme, very dangerous on the attack – the best full back I’ve ever seen with the USMNT (with all due respect to Dolo). (I know the last line isn’t what you would call a “sentence.” lol – sorry English teachers)

Sebastian Lletget (+12)

I haven’t been Lletget’s biggest fan, but it’d be rather silly to hang on to an opinion that is clearly…not right. He just goes out and plays well nearly every time for the US. I still think he’s third on the #8 depth chart behind McKennie and Musah, but if he started over Musah would it be that crazy? Not that it matters, the entire team is never healthy at the same time anyhow and the triple game World Cup qualifying windows are going to test the depth of the team hard.

Lletget was quiet in the first half (+3), but got much more involved in the second half when he scored both goals. Specifically, I’ve noticed that he makes really good use of late and “cut runs.” I’m making that last term up, but it’s where he’s running towards the goal and then breaks it off to run across. Both goals came from late runs with a slight cut back in this game and I recall seeing similar movements from him in previous matches as well. Just a good, smart player to have on the roster.

Nice ball from Nicholas Giaocchini, fine finish from Sebastian Lletget to make it 3-1 for the 🇺🇸!#USAvJAM pic.twitter.com/6wby9lRhtR

— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) March 25, 2021

Kellyn Acosta (+11)

I’m rooting hard for Mr. Acosta. It’s a really nice “comeback” story. He was in Berhalter’s first camp in January of 2019 and didn’t even make it to the games. It looked like his time with the national team had ended. However, the adjustment in midfield style has given Acosta another chance and he is giving it everything he’s got. Acosta feels like an old vet at this point (he was a starter under Arena during the last WC qualifying cycle), but he’s still only 25 and could certainly earn a roster spot. There’s no obvious backup to Tyler Adams at the #6 and no one has stepped forward to claim it. Acosta might have started to do just that against Jamaica.

He was everywhere on defense. He was +5 on Transition Defense and no one else was more than +1. That’s exactly what you want your defensive midfielder to do if the opposing team manages to get thru the counter-press. Plus, he has a cannon of a right foot so you know he’s going to run into a highlight real goal here and there. Who doesn’t love to see that?

Mister Kranks helpfully put together a Kellyn Acosta comp which is included here for your enjoyment:

Kellyn Acosta vs Jamaica pic.twitter.com/mUz8seaZF6

— Austin Dakota Buchanan Banks (@MisterKranks) March 25, 2021

Room for Improvement

John Brooks (-2)

I don’t know what was up with Brooks, but this was not his best performance. There were three different times where he just inexplicably hit passes out of play. If he was a golfer I’d call them shanks. It was weird.

Throw in the fact that he got beat a couple times on defense and you have the recipe for a low grade. He did still hit a couple nice line breaking passes and carry the ball into the attack here and there, but not enough to overcome the errors. There will be better days ahead for Brooks.

Sunday

There may be some marital discord on Sunday. The full team plays at noon, Michigan basketball (wrong sport, I know) plays in the NCAA tourney at 5pm, and the U23s play their all important semifinal match at 6pm (time is probably a lie). I’ll have to make sure I’m super helpful and considerate on Saturday. lol

Fun times though. Fun times.

If you enjoyed this and would like to be informed of future articles type your email address in the box and you’ll be notified of each new post. Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter @blharreld 🤓