USMNT vs. Wales, 2020 friendly: Man of the Match

The first United States Men’s National Team match in almost a year ended in a 0-0 draw. For a friendly, it was perhaps the most anticipated game the team has played since facing Argentina in the Copa America Centenario. Overall, the individual performances ranged from OK to pretty good. For the first time this group played together, the team showed well. Still, a 0-0 result is always a little disappointing.

Sebastian Lletget slotted in at striker and was lacking in movement and only created a moment or two of danger for his side. That’s to be expected with him playing out of position though. The attack around him moved the ball well, with Yunus Musah having a solid performance as Konrad and Gio Reyna were perhaps trying a bit too hard.

Meanwhile, Weston McKennie was Weston McKennie and at times was the best no. 2-11 that was on the field for the USMNT.

In the back, the defense was steady with John Brooks putting in a stellar performance, Zack Steffen making some good saves, Tyler Adams shielding the defense, and Sergino Dest nutmegging people for no good reason. Aside from taking a poor position on a Wales counter and needing to make a last ditch tackle and picking up a yellow card in the process, Matt Miazga was solid while Antonee Robinson struggled a bit on the left side.

The usual slew of substitutes began at the 70th minute and predictably the team didn’t gel any better with six changes in the last 20 minutes of the match.

There’s a lot to be excited about as such a young team held their own in their first match together. With more time, and a proper number 9 somewhere on the field, the team should continue to improve and grow heading into the 2022 World Cup.

Perhaps it was the filthy and unncecessary nutmeg toward the end of the game that put him over the top, but Sergino Dest took top marks as Man of the Match against Wales just passing Weston McKennie.

Here’s how the rest of the players fared in the ratings.