The US Men’s National Soccer Team just finished 4th in the first 2016 Copa America Centenario to be held on US soil. In front of the US finished Chili in 1st place, Argentina in 2nd and Colombia in 3rd. The USMNT finished ahead of the likes of a star-studded cast of Brazilians, Uruguayans and the strongest Mexican side in history.
Looking back on the past 4 weeks I can’t help but look at the tournament with biases, but when I grade it, as objectively as possible, I can’t help, but notice that the difference is not that far off from where I had hoped we would have finished. On an Letter Grade Scale like back in those classroom days, (A: 90-100, B: 80-89, C: 70-79, D: 60-69, F: 59 and below) I graded each match for USMNT in hopes of coming to a realistic measure of how we did, and I have concluded that we’re better than England.
USA/Colombia (FIFA ranking: 3rd): June 3, 2016; Santa Clara, Ca.
C+ 79
For the US’s first match of the tournament I graded a C+ because of these three things: team rankings, the first half and Colombia’s two goals. Going into Copa America Colombia was ranked 3rd in FIFA rankings versus the US’s 33rd place ranking. Man-to-Man the US is out matched, however, showed moments of great improvement in the first half. At times the USMNT was able to generate some forward movement when Johnson and Yedlin got involved in the attack. Also, there was decent strings of possession throughout the midfield, however, going into the second half the US wasn’t able to control the rhythm of the game. At the final whistle, Colombia’s two occurred due entirely to two mental lapses on behalf of two of our most capable defenders. I would argue the USMNT gifted the Colombia their 2 goals.
USA/Costa Rica (FIFA ranking: 23rd): June 7, 2016; Chicago, Il
A+ 98
Going into the USA/Costa Rica match in Chicago, the US had a lot of ground to make up. The their previous outing back in October 2015 Costa Rica beat the USMNT 1-0. A disappointing and discouraging performance by the National Team. In this match the USMNT came out strong and controlled the midfield. Wood pressed high creating space for Dempsey and Jones in the midfield disrupted the Tico’s midfield play and when on the ball showed great composure to maintain possession and get the ball to Dempsey.
USA/Paraguay. (FIFA ranking: 44th): June 11, 2016; Philadelphia, Pa.
B+ 89
A difficult match, physically and mentally, Paraguay was out played early on, however, realizing their defeat they tried to kick and force the US to yield. Fortunately the US stuck to their guys and remained steadfast. It wasn’t a pretty win and given the opponent the expectation was a repeat USA/Costa Rica outing, however, Paraguay did not go quietly. For this reason I graded the US a B+. They showed a good mix cohesion and moved the ball well and when they needed to, they showed the American grit that we’ve been known for.
USA/Ecuador (FIFA ranking: 13th): June 16, 2016; Seattle, Wa.
A 95
The quarter-final match between Ecuador and the USA was an incredible match and for the US to play as they did gives them a 95 “A” grade. Similar to the US/Paraguay game but rated high because of the opponent. Ecuador is ranked 13th in the world and are an extremely fast team. In the first half the US dominated the pace of the game, moved the ball well and created and finished chances. Unfortunately, due to two red cards both teams went down a man and this created more space which was more subtle to the fast, high energy and direct soccer of Ecuador. The US held on to a 2-1 victory
USA/Argentina (FIFA ranking: 1st): June 21, 2016: Houston, Tx.
D 65
This was a tough match to grade for 2 reasons. One, due to the yellow card accumulation rule we were missing 3 of starters going into the most difficult match of the tournament against the best team in the world with the best player in the world. Jermaine Jones, Alejandro Bedoya and Bobby Wood were all out. Two, man-to-man, without missing jones, Bedoya and Wood, the USMNT was incredibly out-gunned, so the hope was for a win, but the reality was a likely loss. We lost 4-0, however, I think, given the circumstances that’s not a bad result. Looking at how Mexico lost 7-0 to Chili, Brazil and Uruguay, all superior teams, bowed out of the group stage. The US never gave up even though at every point on the field we were out matched.
USA/Colombia (FIFA ranking: 3rd): June 25, 2016: Glendale, A
C+ 79
This was a heart-wrenching match! Incredibly well played. The way the US closed down the midfield and controlled the pace of the game, I thought exhibited a new level of play and class from a USMNT that leading up to this tournament really was not an impressive side. Throughout the whole game I kept asking myself, “What if we had had Jones, Wood and Bedoya? Would the semi-final against Argentina been any different?” I like to think so but we’re not graded on the hypothetical. In the end, it was a perfectly executed sequence of passes that broke down the US defense and Colombia ended up winning 1-0. Where I marked against the US was in our execution in the final third. We struggled to put chances away and on the ball in the final third, when it matters most did not make the right decision or show that killer instinct.
Final Grade: B 84.17
The history of soccer in the US is brief, yet we’ve accomplished so much on the world stage. There is still a long way to go, but when we look at the era of modern football, the US is doing quite well. With a final score of 84.17 B it’s safe to say the USMNT did a good job.
On a final note the US has participated in every World Cup since 1990, and we’ve passed the group stage 4 out of 7 times; one of which, 2002, we made it to the quarter-finals and lost to a formidable German side who we clearly outplayed and should have beaten. For a nation as young as the US is when it comes to modern soccer, this is pretty impressive progress.
A country like England who has been competing in the World Cup since 1950 has one WC win on their belt, however, if you compare their record since 1990 to the US’s, they’re not that far off. England has only qualified for 6 of the last 7, but has advanced from the group stages 5/6 times. Only one more time than the US and they’ve participated in less World Cups.
Long story short, we should be proud of where we are and continue to strive to be the best. I think if we were to match up with the current England side we’d beat them for sure. The future is bright for soccer in America, and our national team embodies that potential.
