USA v France, 2018 friendly: Community Man of the Match

It says a lot about expectations that the USMNT could squeak out a draw against a lethargic French team and the overall reaction be a positive one. France came out with a full strength squad in their last game heading into the World Cup and as expected dominated play, owning the possession advantage 70/30 and taking 19 shots to 2 by the US.

The silver lining of the dominant possession by France was an opportunity for the US to evaluate one of their goalkeeper options moving forward. Keeper has long been the position of strength for the USMNT with the net being dominated by the likes of Brad Freidel, Kasey Keller, and Tim Howard. However, with Howard’s rapid decline there has suddenly been a hole to fill and no small amount of consternation about which of the young keepers, if any, might step up. There has been no shortage of potential options but to this point none have seized the opportunity and established themselves as the surefire starter.

While it’s not a done deal - consistency can only be established over time - your SSFC Community Man of the Match took a step in the right direction Saturday and had a community rating that was as impressive as his performance.

That’s worth watching from a second angle:

Zack Steffen was your Community Man of the Match with a 8.32 rating from over 600 votes cast. It wasn’t just one sequence either, Steffen recorded seven saves overall and had this gem as well:

The rest of the rankings seem to reflect the feel of a positive draw lacking in much possession or goal scoring opportunities:

Shaq Moore - 6.43

Matt Miazga - 7.22

Cameron Carter-Vickers - 6.77

Tim Parker - 7.13

Antonee Robinson - 7.13

Wil Trapp - 6.08

Weston McKennie - 6.43

Tyler Adams - 6.86

Julian Green - 7.10

Bobby Wood - 5.32

Erik Palmer-Brown - 5.97

Joe Corona - 5.16

Josh Sargent - 5.70

Jorge Villafana - 5.03

What did you see differently? Let us know in the comments section below!