HalfSpaces Player (+/-) Grades: USMNT vs Switzerland

USMNT (+/-) Player Grades

The USMNT finally got to play a decent team, playing its best players, and maybe even trying a little. It went alright. For 60 minutes or so the game was tied and that was a pretty fair reflection of how the game had gone. Then the subs came on and Switzerland scored immediately. They could have scored a couple more too. So what do we make of it?

Do we say the US played Switzerland even when it mattered? Or do we look at the totality of the match and say that the USMNT was comfortably outclassed by a tier 2 Euro team?

I lean towards the former option, but I wouldn’t die on that hill. The individual performances in the match were pretty mediocre overall. Let’s take a look at the grades.

Grading Beverage: Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond: not my favorite in the cabinet, but it’s decent and like $20

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

USMNT (+/-) Player Grades

MOTM – Ethan Horvath (+10)

Unless your team’s keeper has had an unbelievable match in distribution this is a bad sign for the team. Horvath came up with two really good 1v1 saves that kept the US in the game and was solid all the way through. No one is going to mistake Horvath for Ederson, but Ethan was pretty clean passing the ball and calm under pressure. It’s tough to penalize a goalkeeper for not coming up with a big save, but it sure is nice when they make it. Horvath has now kept the US in the last two games he’s played. If he gets a move to a decent club and continues to improve with his feet then he could be a legitimate challenger to Zack Steffen.

Other Positive Performances

John Brooks (+7)

You might notice that there were three players that all came out +7. Brooks is at the top of the pile thanks to his per 90 rating. This is something I calculated a while back to review 2019 from a +/- grades point of view (btw way back then Lletget came out at the top of this scale – I should listen to my own numbers🤣). Anyhow, since Brooks only played 61 minutes his 10.3 per 90 puts him ahead of Aaronson and Sargent. I think I’ll keep it as a feature now as a way to compare the performance of subs and starters (especially over time).

Brooks performed pretty darn well in a situation that wasn’t great for him. The last thing you want for Brooks is for him to be stuck 1v1 against a fast attacker. He was in that situation repeatedly and really only got burned once. Embolo did blow by him resulting in a painful Horvath face save, but he also held up well in a couple other 1 v 1 situations.

I also gave him five different positive marks for the way he stepped to intercept balls or hassle the Swiss player trying to be an outlet. If the USMNT really is going to press that high then Brooks and co. are going to need to continue to excel at this.

And as usual, he had a couple nice passes thrown in there for good measure. He’s the USMNT’s best center back by a country mile and really important to the team’s effort in playing out of the back.

Aaronson/Sargent (+7)

I’m grouping these two together because their grades are the same, but also because these two were most responsible for the best pressing moments from the US. They both ran like maniacs and put Sommer and the Swiss defenders under pressure in dangerous spots. Sargent struggled with his touch a bit and Aaronson wasn’t overly involved outside of his pressing, but both of them put in positive performances imo.

Room to Improve

Tim Ream (-5)

If you’ve read my stuff for a little while you’ll know I’ve got a soft spot for Tim Ream. I really enjoy the way he passes the ball from the back. His game against Uruguay a couple years back was a clinic in distribution that you don’t see from USMNT defenders very often. Tim had a rough 30 minutes against Switzerland though. I don’t think he has the legs to run with most attackers anymore. I believe he’ll make it thru the Nations League as Brooks’ backup, but that may be it for him. Godspeed, old friend.

Sergino Dest (0)

I have a friend (pastor at a church I used to go to actually) that likes golf, but doesn’t really enjoy it unless there’s some money on the line. Which brings me to Dest’s performance…

To my eye, it looked like Dest wasn’t real interested in playing this game. On one hand, you never want to see someone play less than their best, but on the other hand, it’s hard to blame him. He’s gone from playing in matches for Barcelona where the outcome of the league title was hanging in the balance every match…to a friendly against Switzerland after a long season. Dest’s half-hearted press was a major component of Switzerland’s opening goal and there were several other times where he looked lackadaisical. I’m not worried about it, but let’s hope Dest is up for the Honduras and Mexico matches.

Jackson Yuiell (1)

I’ve been waffling on Yueill for a couple years now and I’m still not exactly sure what to make of him. He’s supposedly in there for his passing range/ability, but he came out -3 in passing events for me. On the other hand, his defense looks better than I expected and he’s getting more physical. I’m leaning towards “he ain’t it” and seeing what else we’ve got in the hopper (CAN JAMES SANDS PLEASE GET A CAP?! Wrote that last July for crying out loud), but I guess I could be convinced otherwise. We’ll get a good long look since it appears Adams won’t be playing this summer.

Real Games

I’m eager to see a couple “real” games with something on the line. There’s not much on the line in the Nations League, but at least it’s not a friendly. The presumed game against Mexico is the most important match the team has played since the Gold Cup final in 2019 and it’s the best chance we’ll get as fans to see if any real progress has been made. Berhalter sort of started over with the team after the Canada loss and he’s told us to judge him on results now. Let’s see some.

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