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USA vs. Panama, 2019 Gold Cup: Man of the match

Second choice lineup, second choice scores

Venezuela v United States Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Wednesday’s night full rotation squad for the USMNT played a bit of a yawner against what was the best opponent in their group but also a highly rotated side. The game lacked many magical moments but the US was able to secure a 1-0 win thanks to Jozy Altidore’s overhead goal in the 66th minute.

Despite scoring the game’s loan goal Altidore was edged out in the voting by the narrowest of margins and the SSFC Man of the Match is Matt Miazga (6.687). Miazga had a solid game, looking quick to snuff out danger and showing good composure on the ball.

It’s a bit challenging to compare individual results from a 6-0 drubbing to those from a lackluster 1-0 win when an entire side has been rotated and you aren’t able to see how someone would perform next to other starting caliber players such as Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic. However, it would seem that the only players who are making a push to be considered for starting would be Altidore and Miazga, two of just four starters who scored over a six on the night (the other two being Sean Johnson and Reggie Cannon who look to have larger hills to climb to unseat presumed starters).

Left back continues to be a problem area for the USMNT as the position, this time manned by Daniel Lovitz, was again the lowest scored position of the night. There is certainly room for improvement in that area though options on this roster are certainly lacking, particularly if Nick Lima won’t be considered for the spot.

The full SSFC rankings were as follows:

Sean Johnson - 6.102

Reggie Cannon - 6.171

Matt Miazga - 6.687

Omar Gonzalez - 4.575

Daniel Lovitz - 4.285

Wil Trapp - 4.391

Cristian Roldan - 4.637

Djordje Mihailovic - 4.704

Jordan Morris - 5.773

Jozy Altidore - 6.67

Jonathan Lewis - 5.356

Christian Pulisic - 6.188

Tyler Boyd - 5.940

Gyasi Zardes - 5.171

So what did you think? Will the left side be our undoing in the knockout rounds? Who deserves a look with a more first choice squad? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments below.