The USMNT closed off another year with a sour taste in its mouth, losing track of Italy’s Matteo Politano as the Azzurri finally found a way past American goalkeeper Ethan Horvath with a stoppage time winner in Belgium on Tuesday.
[ MORE: Match recap | 3 things ]
Starting XI
Ethan Horvath — 8 — Very good after a nervy moment early, the Club Brugge man will have shown a new coach he should be in consideration for the top job. Could do little on the goal.
Shaq Moore — 7 — Quite decent despite playing 4/5 of the match on his non-preferred left side.
Cameron Carter-Vickers — 5.5 — Beaten a couple of times, but a clean sheet against Italy in Europe is what it is.
Aaron Long — 6 — Left in no man’s land by Lletget in stoppage time.
Walker Zimmerman — 7 — The standout of a decent night for the three center backs, even chipped in with a header on goal in the first half.
Reggie Cannon (Off 76′) — 6.5 — A decent performance with promising moments moving forward for the FC Dallas right back.
Kellyn Acosta (Off 83′) — 7 — I though the Colorado Rapids midfielder was the Yanks’ best field player on the day, with quite decent service on set pieces to boot.
Marky Delgado (Off 62′) — 5 — Inconspicuous
Tyler Adams — 6 — Busier than Delgado, but was a bit overran and will take this as a learning experience.
Christian Pulisic (Off 83′) — 6 — Just fine. Saddled with either a second striker or 3+1 attacking midfielder role, Pulisic was understandably troubled by Leonardo Bonucci (though we have to imagine the Italian wasn’t happy to deal with him either).
Josh Sargent (Off 62′) — 5 — Good energy, but clearly taking a step up in class from Werder Bremen’s reserves. Hesitated to pull the trigger to find Reggie Cannon’s adventurous run in the early second half.
Subs
Wil Trapp (On 62′) — 5 — Looked confused at times in the middle of the park, troubling for a player who’s received plenty of time to get used to these situations.
Bobby Wood (On 62′) — 6 — Just fine.
Jorge Villafana (On 76′) — 6 — An improved performance from last week versus England, albeit in a cameo.
Sebastian Lletget (Off 83′) — 4 — How a clean sheet is quickly undone against Italy: Lletget leaves Politano, who starts a quick exchange between Marco Verratti, Moise Kean, and himself to win it in stoppage time. Maybe harsh on a man who waited almost 2 years between caps, but true.
Romain Gall (Off 83′) — 6.5 — Lively in limited time, Gall earned a corner with a wayward shot from distance (though his ensuing corner service left plenty to be desired).
