If the objective for the penultimate World Cup preparation game for the United States men’s national team was to help Matt Turner secure the starting goalkeeper job, then Friday morning’s international friendly against Japan was the equivalent of opening “Top Gun: Maverick” at the box office.
In all other aspects, it was darned close to disaster.
If not for Turner’s alert positioning, lightning reflexes and unyielding confidence, the USMNT might have given up a touchdown instead of losing 2-0 to Japan in Dusseldorf, Germany. With Zack Steffen not called into camp because of an injury, Turner was the obvious choice to start this game. And he delivered a performance that ranked with the best of his young national team career.
The grades for all the Americans, though, look like the carnage from a college Organic Chemistry class.
MORE: Full recap of USMNT vs. Japan with minute-by-minute analysis, commentary, and highlights
USMNT player grades vs. Japan: Starting XI
Matt Turner (goalkeeper): 8
He spent the entire 90 minutes cleaning up the mistakes of those in front of him. He was credited with six saves, and nearly every one demanded the best of him. In the 13th minute, he made a great save against Daichi Kamada after a terrible giveaway by the U.S. defense. Turner had little chance against the goal from Kamada that broke the scoreless tie, but there was immediate giveaway following that goal in the 24th minute that demanded Turner be elite again.
His best stop might have been the wide-open shot from Junya Ito in the 55th minute. Or it might have been the touch he got on the sharp, rolling shot form Kamada in the 66th minute that probably would have tucked inside the right post.
.@headdturnerr keeps us within reach! 🧤 pic.twitter.com/5hSIlYqSNh
— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) September 23, 2022
How can there be any doubt, at this point, that Turner is the best the U.S. has?
MORE: USMNT fails to deal with Japan press in pre-World Cup friendly defeat
Sergino Dest (right back): 4.5
He got deep into the Japan defense with an early attack, but to no avail. He was deployed upfield against Japan’s pressure while center back Walker Zimmerman was asked to maneuver the ball up the right sideline. They rarely connected.
His half-point bump was the result of a great, short cross that should have been headed into the goal by Jesus Ferreira. Dest was partially at fault for the first Japan goal, as he got caught high up the pitch and couldn't recover in time to challenge the goalscorer Kamada, but this was less due to Dest's own failures and more due to clear tactical instructions that backfired.
Note the positioning of Sergino Dest on the Japan goal.#USMNT taking plenty of risks pushing him up the field. This is how to punish that tactic. pic.twitter.com/I8y5CMJzUk
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) September 23, 2022
Aaron Long (central defender): 4
Long was one of many players guilty of a terrible turnover against Japan’s pressure, his coming in the 32nd minute. He did not assuage the doubts that exist regarding the best partner for Zimmerman with Miles Robinson out for the World Cup with an achilles injury.
Walker Zimmerman (central defender): 4.5
He did manage to create some doubt about whether the U.S. has anyone reliable in this position. He again excelled at disrupting conventional attacks, in the box and beyond. But when Japan was able to get a transition opportunity, he was as helpless as most everyone else.
The fact he created some of those with poor passes and poor decisions about which pass to execute only exacerbated the concern.
One example of many was a needless decision in the 55th minute to play the ball back to Turner, which ignited Japan’s press, which led to Zimmerman to having few options when pinned against the end line, which led him to a hopeful, curled pass to Weston McKennie, who had no great options and tried a volley that had no target and was easily gathered by the opposition.
Sam Vines (left back): 4.5
It might have been OK that he was so uninvolved in the fist-half attack if he’d been of some assistance in advancing the ball against the press. He wasn’t. In the 28th minute, a simple ball played to him along the sideline rolled over his feet and out of play. Early in the second half, he made a reckless decision to move laterally with the ball toward the box, then play it back to Turner, who immediately was under pressure along the end line. The pressure was coming from his right, so the options available to play in that direction weren’t available to him.
As for playing it to the left? Well, Vines had vacated that area so there was no target.It became one more bad giveaway.
Vines was more involved in the attack afterward, hence the half-point bump in his score.
Tyler Adams (defensive midfielder): 5
We know he played because he was another who turned the ball over too easily, his coming in the 35th minute. It was rare for him to have this little impact on a game.
Luca de la Torre (midfielder): 4
A favorite of so many American fans because he wasn’t playing regularly for the USMNT, he filled in for regular starter Yunus Musah and reminded us all why Musah is so important to the team.
There was a moment of spark early for de la Torre, almost immediately after kickoff, but his advance led to a weak cross that easily was blocked.
Not much good happened afterward. There was an easy giveaway in the 19th minute, another in the 52nd. He had a chance to threaten the Japan goal when the ball was fed to him at the top of the box in the 51s minute, but he was unable to get off a shot. Just before being subbed off, he drew a yellow card by fouling a Japan player – after allowing the ball to get away from him while dribbling.
Weston McKennie (midfielder): 2
Is it unfair to say this was his poorest performance with the USMNT? Perhaps, because those around him were equally poor, but in a vacuum, McKennie was central to the U.S. failures against Japan.
It was his terrible turnover in the 25th minute that set up Japan’s first goal. He was of little help getting the ball through the defense and into the attack. His most obvious contributions were throw-ins, one that earned a U.S. corner.
The #USMNT conceded seven shots and no goals from high turnovers in 14 qualifying matches. Today in 90 minutes against Japan: pic.twitter.com/RVoQNfVz6c
— The Analyst US (@OptaAnalystUS) September 23, 2022
Brenden Aaronson (right winger): 6.5
As so often is on the case when Aaronson is on the field for the U.S., that majority of the positive developments involved him. He was very promising early on, but quickly became disconnected from the ball as the defense and midfield struggled. He did disrupt one attack by failing to keep himself onside, but he reacted to consistent punishment from Japan players by getting up each time and, when possible, threatening their defense.
Late in the match, Aaronson produced the best U.S. chance of the second-half by forcing a turnover, but he fired his shot wide, unable to test the Japan goalkeeper Daniel Schmidt.
Jesus Ferreira (striker): 2
The entire game would have turned if he’d put in a wide-open header sent his way by Dest in the 8th minute. There was no one in front of him. It was as clear a chance as a player is going to get in 99 percent of international soccer games, and he jumped and headed it over the bar.
In the 24th minute, he was late to a second ball off a long ball from Zimmerman. In the 29th, he was assigned to take one of the team’s few corner kicks and floated it in for Japan keeper Shuichi Gonda to grab.
With Jordan Pefok left home, Ferreira did nothing to convince USMNT fans that coach Gregg Berhalter’s commitment to him is well-placed.
Gio Reyna (left winger): 3
Only got 45 minutes to make an impact, and his teammates in the back did not help him to get involved. Had one nice chance to deliver a final pass in the box, but it was blocked.
USMNT player grades vs. Japan: Substitutes
Josh Sargent (striker): 3
He never was dangerous, and he allowed an attack with potential in the 70th minute to escape because of a bad touch.
Jordan Morris (right winger): 3
What’s there to say, really? He definitely played.
Reggie Cannon (right back): 2
He hustled in for one great block in the center of the box, but he was largely responsible for the second Japan goal when beaten one-on-one on a dribble forward by Kaoru Mitoma.
Mark McKenzie (central defender): 3
After entering as a second-half sub, McKenzie turned over the ball in the 66th minute and put Turner in position for one of his toughest saves. McKenzie also missed a header near midfield that was gathered by the opposition and converted into an attack against a U.S. defense that was undermanned because McKenzie was trapped upfield.
Malik Tillman (midfielder): 4
Tillman missed his chance to make an impact when he was unable to deal with a promising cross sent in by Vines.
Johnny Cardozo (midfielder): 5
Not good, not bad.
