U.S. Men’s National Team v. Panama, Panama City, 10.15.13

I am not one of those enlightened souls who roots against my national soccer team when it plays teams representing less developed nations. And yet, it would have taken a heart far harder and more jingoistic than mine not to feel a twinge of sadness at the sight of devastated Panama players at the end of Tuesday night’s final CONCACAF World Cup qualifying match. Panama went from protecting a 2-1 lead and (due to a simultaneously unfolding Costa Rica victory over Mexico) securing a spot in the World Cup qualifying playoff match against New Zealand next month, to conceding two goals in stoppage time in front of their home crowd to squander their World Cup chances. Just thinking about it induces a touch of guilt, along with worry that the U.S. will suffer Karmic payback down the line.

Still, it would be hard (presumably) even for a God of justice to blame the U.S. players for hustling until the final whistle. There was no gamesmanship by U.S. players, no cheap play, no evident gloating when the final whistle blew. This was in fact an enjoyable game to watch, with plenty of attacking play and some attractive buildups from a U.S. side that, due to injuries and other factors, lacked big names and was stocked with players hoping to induce Jurgen Klinsmann to put them on next summer’s World Cup finals roster.

Left back Edgar Castillo played the entire match against Panama and again showed that he is one of those players capable of keeping both teams in a game. His giveaway in the 18^th minute, and subsequent slow reaction, led directly to Panama’s first goal. About a minute later, Castillo was nowhere to be seen as Panama again attacked down the U.S. left side, creating an uncontested shot for Blas Perez at the top of the box. On Panama’s second goal, late in the second half, Panama yet again attacked down the U.S. left, Panama’s Roberto Chen putting a cross past Castillo, who failed to promptly close down Chen.

Then again, Castillo had a couple of timely clearances and looked very good on the attack, particularly with the ball at his feet. His pass to substitute left midfielder Brad Davis set up the U.S.’s first stoppage time goal. But I have made the argument before: Castillo is an attacker, not a defender, and the better the competition, the more of a liability he is.

As long as I’m repeating myself, I might as well mention Brad Evans. He played left back for most of the Panama game and was beaten badly for speed at least a couple of times, once nearly leading to a Panama goal. (I was unable to take notes during this beIN Sport broadcast game, and can’t recall the minute.) Evans can sometimes cover for his lack of speed by good positioning and well timed slide tackles, as he did against Jamaica last week, but ultimately there’s no substitute for recovery speed in a defensive back.

To move from the back line to the front, Aron Johannsson turned in one of the more intriguing individual performances of this game. He came on in the 62^nd minute, looking like a young Kevin Bacon with an SS-officer haircut. In the 83^rd minute, he drifted to the U.S. left side of the field and received a pass from Davis, turning the ball towards goal and taking a shot that initially looked well wide of the mark, a wasted opportunity. And yet, Johannsson had wrapped his foot around the ball so well and thoroughly that it nearly found the far post. I looked up the game highlights specifically to see if this shot made the cut, and it did (it’s at around the 3-minute mark of the highlights). “A bit more bend,” the announcer says, “and that one might have gone in.” A bit more bend and someone would have had to rewrite the laws of physics.

Johannsson scored the final goal of the match on another remarkable hit from outside the box, this one low and to the near post. It seemed a hopeful strike at best, and certainly a selfish one, as midfielder Sacha Kljestan had made a run into the box and was wide open for a clear shot. Even after Johannsson’s shot went into the net, Kljestan turned and lifted his arms at Johannsson, seemingly in disbelief that Johannsson hadn’t delivered him the pass.

Kljestan had a solid performance in the center of the field, though perhaps not solid enough to infiltrate a U.S. World Cup finals roster that (barring injuries) will have a quality midfield. Graham Zusi will no doubt be a part of it, and Zusi turned in another good performance against Panama, heading in the equalizer in stoppage time.

There’s another moment worth checking out on those game highlights. After Zusi’s goal, the aforementioned Chen of Panama approaches Davis, lifting his arms in a questioning gesture. Chen then says something to Davis, nothing heated, something like (I’d guess), “What’s the point of that? What did you have to gain?”

Indeed, the U.S. team had nothing or next to nothing to gain in World Cup qualifying by winning Tuesday night, and Panama had everything to lose. Davis did not reply to Chen and to his credit did not look happy to have needlessly eliminated his opponent from World Cup qualification. But no one should expect an opponent to lie down. And Davis is one of those U.S. players, like Kljestan, fighting for a roster spot next summer. His cross to Zusi against Panama helped his cause.

U.S. Men’s National Team v. Jamaica, Kansas City, 10.12.13

There needed no ghost come from the grave, nor announcer from the airwaves, to tell us the U.S. performance against Jamaica last Friday was a drab one. But ESPN play-by-play man Ian Darke made the observation anyway, remarking after an Edgar Castillo 76^th-minute giveaway, “In truth, a whole catalogue of errors out there tonight.”

To that point, and especially in the first half, the U.S. had given the ball away cheaply and looked listless, playing every bit like a team that had already secured its place in the 2014 World Cup. Landon Donovan’s performance was indicative. Despite some positive play—like a pass to U.S. newcomer Aron Johannsson in the 20^th minute that might have led to a goal or a penalty kick were it not for a well timed slide tackle by Jamaica defender Adrian Mariappa—he was mostly a nonfactor, at times even a detriment. His night is probably best captured by a sequence in the 41^st minute. He made a run into the box, received a fine pass from Alejandro Bedoya, but couldn’t control the ball and sent it over the end-line for a Jamaica goal kick. (Donovan’s uncharacteristically subpar performance was almost certainly due in part to an ankle injury that will keep him out of tomorrow’s final U.S. qualifier against Panama.)

So Darke was as usual talking sense when he noted the U.S.’s catalogue of errors. But within a minute of him saying those words, the U.S. elevated their play, working hard to string together some passes in the final third before Graham Zusi deposited a deflected Bedoya cross into the net for a 1-0 lead. The U.S. played with verve from then on, scoring again in the 81^st minute off a Jozy Altidore tap-in of a Castillo cross.

Zusi, playing in his club team’s stadium, came on for Donovan at halftime and brought much-needed energy into the game. He not only scored the first U.S. goal, he had a critical hand in the buildup to it, picking out Bedoya making a run to the far post. (It was Bedoya’s deflected cross that Zusi put into the net.) And almost immediately after that goal, Zusi hit a cross from the right side that found fellow substitute Sacha Kljestan wide open at the back post. Kljestan’s one-time shot was deflected by Jamaica keeper Duwayne Kerr, but at that point it was clear the game was effectively over.

Speaking of Zusi’s fellow subs, Castillo, despite that aforementioned giveaway, played a strong game, frequently attacking down the left sideline after coming on for DaMarcus Beasley in the 66^th minute. I’m still not convinced Castillo should be the U.S.’s starting left back, or even their back-up left back, as there is too much evidence suggesting his defense is suspect. But against inferior competition, when a good attack is often the best defense, he continues to prove his worth. Against Jamaica he could have had a second assist in the 89^th minute, when he again had a wide-open Altidore standing before an empty goal, but Castillo elected to take the shot. It wasn’t necessarily a bad decision; the point here is he was a near-constant attacking threat. Again, though, Jamaica attackers never seriously challenged Castillo during his brief time on the field, and it would be nearly impossible to draw any conclusions about his defensive qualities based on this game.

There is also evidence to support the case that Brad Evans is not up to the task of defending world-class strikers. But Evans played the full ninety minutes at right back against Jamaica and mostly acquitted himself well. He made up for his relative lack of speed by sound positioning, and in a couple of cases late in the second half by executing good slide tackles. He also prevented a Jamaica goal in the 7^th minute when he cleared the ball off the line during a pinball sequence in the U.S. box following a Jamaica free kick.

But while Evans’s performance was largely reassuring, the position of right back remains the least settled going into next summer. (Beasley has, I think, rightfully nailed down the left back spot, assuming he remains healthy.) I would love to see Andrew Farrell, the New England Revolution’s tenacious and talented rookie, get called into the U.S.’s January camp to prove to Klinsmann he’s worthy of consideration at that position.