Player Ratings for U.S. Vs. Italy

[project2006]

I guess i will start this.

Keller 7 - finally made some big saves.

Dolo 6 - Was up and down the field. If he was 5'11 he would be world class but his size causes him to be pushed around a litle.

GOOCH 10 - He absoultely owned Toni, didnt see him do much. He also kept everybody organized after Pope got ejected. MOTM for me.

Pope 0 - No comment.

Boca 9 - Was a beast on the left. He didnt give the Italians anything down the flank. That is why Italy was concentrating bringingh the ball down Dolo's side. Really showed me something. If he was in their instead of Lewis against the Czech. I think the first goal does not happen and it could of been a totally different game.

Dempsey 7 - He really made the Italians work on the right and got a card on Totti. Made some great passes and very creative.

Reyna 8 - He was all over the pitch. Enough said.

Mastro 7 - He was also all over the pitch. Got to deduct points for the Red Card, which should of been a yellow.

Donovan 8 - I think he played a great game, was everywhere, he defended well and made great runs.

Convey 6 - Made good runs and got back to defend. Should of hit the open shot.

Mcbride 6 - Tireless worker and played good but should of finished a couple chances.

Conrad 7 - Played good D to hold the tie.

DMB 5 - Showed up early but then really didnt see him. Maybe I am wrong.

I give these guys 2 extra rating points for their effort and passion and also playing with only 9 on the pitch.

[Ja Ja James]

I doubted Clint's ability against the Italian D, but he proved me totally wrong. Dolo came up huge and showed great poise. Gooch was awesome!! Reyna's second big game (although I wish he would have pushed that ball through to LD).

[footballcrazee]

"6" is more than McBride deserves, especially if you're willing to give out a zero to Pope. What did he do that was so good? He hustled, but was ineffective. The offside and the poor finish on the Donovan pass were both huge plays.

[wcharriscpa]

I would have liked the opportunity to rate Eddie Johnson. :(

[dfb547490]

Keller - 7
Cherundolo - 6.5
Gooch - 9.5
Pope - 3
Bocanegra - 8.5
Mastro - 7.5 (not deducting for the red, shouldn't have been one)
Convey - 7.5 (shouldn't have been taken out)
Dempsey - 8
Reyna - 6.5
Donovan - 7.5
McBride - 6.5


Beasley - 7
Conrad - 7

[profiled]

The offside and the poor finish on the Donovan pass were both huge plays.

Then again, if he isn't offside, does that show go in?

[BenP]

Keller - 7 - better than against the Czech Republic. Goal wasn't his fault. Made some good saves, and his distribution wasn't as bad as against the C.R.

Cherundolo - 8 - I thought he was outstanding, at both ends of the field. Showed his class.

Onyewu - 8 - much better than against the C.R. Showed his class as well. On his way to Middlesborough, most likely . . .

Pope - 3 - well, he might have been hard done by by the first yellow, but he was fouling all day. The second yellow was a bad challenge. And the Italy goal was his fault.

Bocanegra - 7 - very strong in the back. A worthy replacement for Lewis.

Mastro - 6 - unfortunate red card that probably only warranted a yellow. I thought he played his role effectively.

Dempsey - 6 - some good running, but a bit lacking in ideas.

Reyna - 8 - midfield general, allowed the US to dictate midfield play for significant chunks of the game. Did noticably tire in the last 20 to 30 minutes, although perhaps to be expected.

Donovan - 7 - again, much better than against C.R., where he simply went invisible for large chunks of the game. Looked dangerous on a number of occassions, espeically running at defenders.

Convey - 6.5 - similar to Dempsey, but showing a bit more danger in his play.

McBride - 6 - a solid, workmanlike performance. His finishing left something to be desired.

SUBs

Beasely - 5 - lively, but unimaginative. His goal was rightly ruled offside - wouldn't have gone in if McBride were not there.

Conrad - 5 - Decent in defense. Perhaps lucky not to concede a penalty for shirtpulling in the 85th minute when beatean by Izquilda (sp?)

[Mike22]

Keller - 6: some pretty good 2nd half saves, but his long kicks were way off. He made is impossible for McBride to win a lot of them.

Cherundolo - 7: Great running, crossing was pretty good. I thought he would be a liability against Toni, but I was wrong

Onyewu - 9: Super solid, more importantly, didn't get a 2nd yellow. Learned quickly to get his hands down

Pope - 4: Did ok, but looked slow and got a 2nd yellow. It was unfair, but he would have gotten another one eventually the way things were going.

Bocanegra - 8: Did a great job, no fouls, took the Italians away from this side.

Convey - 6: Pretty good, but missed a change that would have changed everything.

Dempsey - 6: Dribbled very well, but gave up defensively a lot.

Reyna - 7: Ran his butt off, controlled the game, he showed why he is the captain.

Mastroeni -3: Looked great at the beginning, but that tackle was sooo dumb.

Donovan - 6: Didn't create that much, but got back on defense when we needed him.

McBride - 6: Ran very well, won lots of air-balls before he puckered out.

Beasley - 5: Almost scored that goal, but didn't bring the energy that we really needed.

Conrad - 6: Solid in the back, should probably start agianst Ghana.

Arena - 6: He certainly found a way to motivate them, and the 4-1-4-1 formation looked to working, but I can't help but question his decision to leave Pope in, and not bring in a third sub at the end. I will be amazed if both McBride and Reyna can recover for the Ghana game, they were dead.

[Silva 5]

Keller - 6
Cherundolo - 7
Gooch - 9
Pope - 5
Bocanegra - 7
Mastro - 10 (i guess he doesn't really deserves a 10 because of how little he played, but from what he did play, he was nothing short of a 10)
Convey - 5
Dempsey - 7
Reyna - 7
Donovan - 8
McBride - 6


Beasley - 6
Conrad - 6

[CbR]

mastro was having a beast of a game until that freaken card. He was playing like reyna but with some defensive bite to him. He was moving the ball around nicely.

[Ghost]

What, we're going to talk about the players?

Keller -- 7 -- I've been calling Keller out, and he finally made some big saves on a quality team. Glad to be wrong.

Cherundolo -- 6.5 -- comes out of his mini-slump. Got stronger as the game went on. Crossing was still somewhat off, however. We've seen better from him on that score.

Pope -- 3.5 -- Red carded. Lost on the goal. Still, it was a good team defensive effort, so he must have been OK.

Gooch -- 9 -- Did Toni touch the ball? Gooch was all over the place. Heck he even got forward when we had nine men.

Boca -- 8 -- Man, did he come through. solid, solid, solid defense. Got into support in the offense.

Mastroeni -- 8 b/f 3 on the card -- way to bounce back, but that challenge was a bad idea, even if I don't think it quite merited a red. Man, if that 40-yarder had gone in.

Convey -- 6.5 some nice individual stuff that never amounted to all that much. Wish he had put in the free kick at the top of the box.

Donovan and Reyna -- 7 -- tons of hustle. good defense and tracking back. Smart pace setting for the most part. We still need to generate more in the final third.

Clint --7 -- looks like he's ready to blow up onthe world stage. Loved how he sucked their defenders in and then beat them.

McBride -- 4.5 -- tons of hustle and work. No threat to the goal.

DMB -- 5.5 -- he put the ball in the net and played pretty good D, although I didn't like him loafing his way back after runs. His touch and teamwork still seem a little out of synch. Probably could have done more.

Conrad -- 5 -- some good D, but could have been whistled for the shirt-pulling.

[CbR]

DMB -- 5.5 -- he put the ball in the net and played pretty good D, although I didn't like him loafing his way back after runs. His touch and teamwork still seem a little out of synch. Probably could have done more.

.

i noticed that too, i was screaming at the TV telling him to "hurry get backkk!!!"

[tehgraarg]

Keller - 7
Cherundolo - 6
Gooch - 8
Pope - 3
Bocanegra - 7
Mastro - 3 (red / yellow who knows... tackle should never happened in the first place)
Convey - 6
Dempsey - 7.5
Reyna - 6.5
Donovan - 7
McBride - 6

Beasley - 4
Conrad - 5

[Jabinho]

This is from The Guardian in the UK:

Man of the match

Landon Donovan - A touch of class in a chaotic match. The American golden boy was the most technically accomplished performer on the pitch, displaying the skill and vision to make Italy's defence look ordinary.

[Attacking Minded]

I think we have to look at Gooch's past two games and start to realize what a defensive stud we have. Yes he has some bad habits but a few more years in league battles and his mental toughness will work those out.

LD does not get so highly rated by me. Maybe a 5 or 6. He still has another level he has to find. IIRC, he won the beep test this year. It doesn't show in the games.

[UxSxAxfooty]

Keller - 7.5 (Made some solid saves, distribution still lacking)
Cherundolo - 7 (Good defense, crossing wasn't great)
Pope - 5.5 (Tough luck on the red, looked overmatched)
Onyewu - 9 (Owned Toni)
Bocanegra - 8 (Great game, visibly much calmer on the ball than when he left MLS)
Mastroeni - 7.5 (Was having a great game until the red, who knew he could shoot?)
Reyna - 8 (Kept Pirlo in check and drove the team)
Dempsey - 7.5 (Nice dribbling, should've done better on crosses)
Convey -6.5 (Good hustle)
Donovan - 7.5 (Solid game, some nice passes and touches, wish he would have a crack)
McBride - 6 (Never stopped hustling, won many headers, needs to finish)

Beasley - 6 (Good spark)
Conrad - 7 (Reliable)

[Aquarius21]

I am very proud of the whole team except for Pope, Mastro, and Arena. Pope because he was constantly tackling late from behind and I knew it was just a matter of time until he got his second yellow and wasn't that surprised when he got it. Mastro I'm not proud of b/c in a game like that, I've seen enough times when the Ref evens up the game b/c he wants to. If you're in a game like that, you HAVE to be careful. The card should've been a yellow, but he had to play smart and when he plays that carelessly in MLS, sometimes it'll show on the field.

Lastly, I'm not happy with Arena. His tactical decisions have been horrible. When Italy goes down to 10 men and the coach takes out Totti, take out Mastro, slide Reyna back to d-mid and put O'Brien in to push for the second goal.

But overall, I'm very proud of these players. It was the exact opposite of Monday. From yahoo! news:

Forward Brian McBride had three stitches on one cheek from a vicious elbow. A bandage covered where Landon Donovan received intravenous fluid. Jimmy Conrad had cotton stuffed up his nose, also the result of an elbow, and played part of the game with vision so blurry he had to ask a teammate whether he was bleeding.

pretty much says it all

[aarond23]

Forward Brian McBride had three stitches on one cheek from a vicious elbow. A bandage covered where Landon Donovan received intravenous fluid. Jimmy Conrad had cotton stuffed up his nose, also the result of an elbow, and played part of the game with vision so blurry he had to ask a teammate whether he was bleeding.

Yep thats the US team we know and love, glad to have them back :)

[roykemper]

Anyone that rates Beasley higher than a 3 is crazy. He comes on in the 2nd half with the field wide open and jogs around for the majority of the game. He used none of his speed to get open or behind the defense. Then when he actually did get forward he loafed back on defense.

[willgp19]

how can you say keller played well. he hurts us so much. the first goad was pretty weak. he was so slow. he sucks with the ball at his feet. he can barely trap. he was one of the worst people on the field. any decent keeper would have saved the shots he saved tonight and the header on the goal. also gooch didn't do as well as yall think. he's just big he's not a good defender. i think our best defenders were conrad and boca. also mastreoni didn't play that well he was rarely an outlet for our back and more of just a guy that fouls. beasley came out flat and happy with a tie. he only broke forward once and he just got pushed off the ball. clint dempsey was by far man of the match. we played for a tie and sometimes you should do that but in our case i think it was a big mistake. we should have made another sub and gone for the win. with a win we were in control of our own destiny. its not ok to just say we played well but we messed up a little bit. every american fan expects to win now. unfortunetly our coach thinks its ok to play like cowards.