:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64147264/1154844173.jpg.0.jpg)
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.
JOZY ALTIDORE WITH THE BICYCLE KICK!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2019
He scores his 42nd international goal and puts the USMNT out in front pic.twitter.com/CVuFexT8Wj
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.