Who looked good and who didn’t for the USMNT last night?

While the 4-1 score is a little harsh if you didn’t watch the game, the USMNT did under perform however. Doug did a recap of the game yesterday so I don’t want to go too much into the detail of the game. With that said, instead of doing a player rating, I’m going to focus on who played well & who didn’t last night.

Players that had a good game:

Fabian Johnson – Thank goodness the left back issue is resolved. However, the rest of the back four didn’t look good at all. Brazil tested him at first down his side of the flank but gave up on that strategy due to his solid positioning and ability to get involved in the attack. To keep Brazil’s Hulk pretty quiet is impressive.

Michael Bradley – I think Bradley was not placed in the right position as the deeper mid in the triangle. When he did get forward more, he helped a lot with the attack. His pass to Johnson led to the only goal and his header was denied by a wonderful save. He looked calm with the ball although he did lack some awareness of where opponents were as they tried to sneak up on him.

Herculez Gomez – Gomez was very active and had to chance down a lot of balls in the first half as the US reverted to punting the ball to get the ball out of their half. Oh yeah and he scored a goal. He even tracked back a lot to help out defensively. Have we finally found someone to threaten Jozy’s spot in the starting line up?

Tim Howard – Yes, he gave up four goal but they weren’t his fault. He still made some fine saves to keep the score lower but his defense definitely let him down.

Players that had a poor game

Oguchi Oneywu – He was a liability out there defensively and that’s not good since, you know, he’s a defender. I’m starting to wondering if the injuries are starting to catch up with him. He did well on some of the set pieces and made with some more games under his belt, he’ll be fine. I think he’ll be helpful for qualifying but I don’t see him as a starter come 2014.

Carlos Bocanegra – Gooch and Boca were not on the same page last night. He also had his fare share of problems handling the attack. As the captain I expect him to keep his area orgaized and bark out orders to his teammate when they track back on defense and that was missing at times, especially on the 3rd goal.

Jose Torres – He didn’t have an impact on the game. Granted he’s playing out of position but he needs to make the most of his opportunities. Oh and that shot in the first half was aweful. A for effort though.

Landon Donovan – He didn’t have an impact until towards the end of the game. He disappeared for stretches. I did like his set pieces contributions and he had his moments but when you’re an impact player, that is simply not enough.

What did we learn?

Bradley needs to play in the more advanced role and Edu needs to be the deeper mid in the triangle. Edu doesn’t offer enough offensively to justify it.

Clarence Goodson might be the best choice as the other starting center back for the USMNT. Gooch needs more time and Cameron hasn’t stepped up yet. I think the possibilities is there for the latter two but they haven’t proved it yet.

The attack should be better when Dempsey is back to full fitness. He played well as a sub (yes, I didn’t put in under the folks who did well but he didn’t play enough for me to put him there). I do think he should have scored a goal. He should have boxed out Silva who denied him.