The US national team were comprehensively outdone on Tuesday by Canada, whose 2-0 Concacaf Nations League triumph in Toronto was earned by a performance worthy of the first win against their southern neighbors in 35 years.
While the visitors looked disconnected and lethargic, the Canucks won the night with a composed, yet spirited performance. Even after Alphonso Davies bagged the second-half winner, Canada maintained their verve until the final whistle. The US, meanwhile, are clearly a team with many more questions than answers at this time.
United States
Zack Steffen (7) — There wasn't much the US goalkeeper could do on either goal, and he kept his side in it with a couple of nice saves.
DeAndre Yedlin (5.5) — For the first time in ages, Yedlin showed some spark going forward and even delivered some decent crosses. However, his grade suffers for being derelict in tracking the back post runner on Canada's opener.
Aaron Long (6) — For a solid hour, the New York Red Bulls defender was easily the best US player on the pitch. Long eagerly covered for teammates, often on the run, and a few times facing a real Davies threat. Then he was culpable on both goal leaks, with another bad mistake that went unpunished in between.
Tim Ream (5) — Though not as strong as his partner, Ream was decent on both sides of the ball until committing turnovers that facilitated both Canada goals.
Daniel Lovitz (5) — Though of little build support, the Montreal left back was solid enough defensively for an hour. The main error of the night came when Lovitz neglected to close down the crosser for Canada's first.
Michael Bradley (4) — There were fleeting moments when Bradley looked like he might seize control of central park, but they were too few and too far between. Every good defensive stop was matched by at least one instance of Canada zooming through his zone and the Toronto FC man's distribution game rarely shined.
Cristian Roldan (4) — The Seattle midfielder started fairly well, providing much of the USMNT's energy and fight. After a terribly-conceived back pass gifted Canada a prime chance, however, Roldan seemed a bit spooked. He was unable to add anything to the attack and progressively became easier to pass through midfield.
Weston McKennie (3.5) — It was a very disappointing night for McKennie, who failed to have any meaningful impact on the proceedings in midfield. He was simply unable to rev the US engine in this one.
Christian Pulisic (5.5) — In the long run, Pulisic will be much more aggravated by firing straight at Canada 'keeper Milan Borjan from point-blank range than by an obviously emotional early hook. He often dribbled straight into traps, but to be fair, his teammates were just as often too slow at breaking out when he tried to kick-start the transition game.
Jordan Morris (6) — The Seattle attacker was relatively quiet, but mostly because the team kept losing possession before he could see the ball. Morris did show excellent patience in setting up Pulisic's golden chance and was the only US player really attacking crosses.
Josh Sargent (4) — After supplying a few early link touches, Sargent largely fell out of the game. The youngster routinely dropped far too deep and was guilty of a couple bad giveaways.
Coach Gregg Berhalter (3) — We're now at the stage where bad ideas aren't being ditched. Going without a dedicated ball-winner in central midfield is well past stale. Playing Pulisic wide is causing more problems than it solves. The team seems to be over-coached, playing a very processed game. When the subs arrived (late, it must be said), there didn't seem to be a plan of any kind besides being in a different shape. And through all of it, the urgency is missing. Long story short, the boss needs to change his approach, because this isn't progress.
Subs
Paul Arriola (5.5) — Brought a bit of fire to the team, just not much else.
Gyasi Zardes (5) — The Columbus striker was hardly noticeable in his 17 minutes.
Nick Lima (6) — The right back sub got his wheels turning into attack, but to little avail.
Canada
Canada celebrate on Tuesday | USA Today Sports Images
Milan Borjan (6.5) — Other than standing up to Pulisic's golden chance, the Red Star Belgrade netminder wasn't troubled much.
Richie Laryea (6.5) — The Canada right back experienced some troubles in his end during the first half, but he was much better after the break. Pressing high, Laryea helped tilt the field until the US broke.
Steven Vitoria (7) — The Moreirense center back was strong in the air and came up with a big area steal when the US were trying to equalize.
Derek Cornelius (7.5) — The Vancouver defender played big, repeatedly stepping into lanes to halt US rushes. Cornelius also added a big area shot block.
Kamal Miller (6) — Like Laryea, the Orlando City youngster struggled a bit in the opening frame before closing with an improved second half.
Samuel Piette (8) — The midfield hard man lived up to his rep, shutting down moves through the middle with impunity. As an added bonus, Piette also passed very positively through the lines.
Mark-Anthony Kaye (-) — Unfortunately, the LAFC midfield ace saw his night cut very short by an injury.
Jonathan Osorio (7.5) — Put simply, Osorio gave Canada everything the US needed from Roldan. He was disruptive when the visitors had the ball and plowed attack roads until he set up the capper.
Scott Arfield (8.5) — The Rangers midfielder put on an all-action display of top-shelf quality. Arfield hustled on defense, most notably to shut down an early Morris chance. He also spent the entire night driving his team into the final third, such as when his low feed teed up Davies for a simple finish.
Alphonso Davies (8.5) — Akin to Arfield, the Bayern Munich prodigy was everywhere. When he wasn't leaving US players in his transition wake, Davies was ably running the home side's offense. The kid got his just reward with the winning goal.
Jonathan David (5.5) — While David scrambled the US defense with his running and provided some helpful build touches, he certainly could have done better with a couple of good looks at goal.
Coach John Herdman (8.5) — His team were more than up for the task, which came off with just a few early hitches. Herdman's boys forced the US to the flank and controlled the center of the pitch, which meant they were able to feed their attack speedsters much more generously.
Subs
Liam Fraser (7) — The TFC Homegrown's senior debut could hardly have gone better. Miller stepped in for Kaye to play solid defense and move the ball efficiently.
Junior Hoilett (6.5) — The veteran speedster came on looking to make trouble, and nearly did.
Lucas Cavallini (7) — As the Puebla forward thumped home the late exclamation point, we'll let his entirely unnecessary yellow-card challenge slide.
