Player Ratings: Which of the back-ups helped themselves most vs. Turkey?
Inside every d-mid there are two Seb Berhalters: One who hits piss missiles and the other who plays fetch
The US men's national team beat themselves late Thursday night, losing 3-2 to Turkey. And honestly... not even mad. Obviously most of my equanimity comes down to the circumstances, what with the dead rubber of a match and an almost entirely* rotated squad. I'm sure if that game had counted for something other than pride and the fight for spots, I'd be feeling something other than what's coursing through me at the moment.
(*) My biggest upset is that it was only "almost entirely rotated" because of Mauricio Pochettino's original sin – leaving the US short-handed in central midfield in the 26-man roster.
And what's coursing through me is confidence, and even a sense of encouragement. I like the way the US played overall, and I love the fight-back they showed, collectively, in the second half. We got some real answers on who can help should they make a deep run, and we got some real evidence that Christian Pulisic is closing in on full health. Plus we got some confirmation that the team's structure is still sound, even as it's clear that execution within that structure remains heavily dependent upon the quality of the main core of guys (all three goals came via either a back-up center back getting lost in space or the complete lack of a No. 6).
There is such a thing as a good loss, and this was one. I'd be surprised if it was a vibe-killer in any way, and I think Poch probably got plenty of film to bash these dudes over the head with between now and Wednesday's date with Bosnia & Herzegovina in Santa Clara.
That's the big picture. But there were 16 individual snapshots as well, and so let's hand out some player ratings and see who might be in line for a bigger role in the knockouts.
In we go:
