The United States dominated the game for long spells and was clearly the superior team. For me, it was a personal pleasure seeing a lot of these US players live as I have followed most of their careers for a while. This analysis is strictly my opinion on what little could have been taken away from an uneven game. Both teams were unbeaten coming into the match with the US claiming victories over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. While Trinidad dispatched both St Vincent and Puerto Rico. A lot of the Trinidadian players I highlighted to you in my last presentation were on show as well. My selection of those players was before the team was selected and all but one(Hudson, which I mentioned issues) are at the CONCACAF Tournament. With this result, the United States' record vs Trinidad and Tobago at the level(U20) now stands at 11-2-2.

 

 

LIVE PLAYER RATINGS 

 

1-Brady Scott-The German-based custodian had little to do in the game and looked solid the few times he was tested, could have maybe come out quicker for Trinidad's lone goal but that criticism is harsh.(8/10)

16-Julian Araujo-A hard-working performance by the right-back, who had to contend with Trinidad's obvious outlet in Orr. Orr got past him a couple of times and Trinidad's lone goal did come from his side. (6.5/10)

 

4-Mark McKenzie-A confident performance from this member of the all Philadelphia Union center back pairing. McKenzie is a unit who is used his size well and won most of his battles both in the air and on the ground. (8/10)

 

5-Matt Real (capt.)-Real was wonderfully composed on the ball and worked well with McKenzie. Real was a leader throughout the game constantly barking orders to his teammates. He maintained his performance levels throughout the game even though some of his teammates dropped theirs as the game was already won. (8/10)

3-Chris Gloster-Had an easier job at defending than Araujo and handled his man fairly comfortable. His quick thinking on a throw-in was instrumental in the US's fourth goal.(7/10)

 

10-Paxton Pomykal-One of the most talked about players in this class and it is easy to see why. The FC Dallas product battled all night long scoring in his third consecutive game as well as picking up an assist.(9/10)

6-Brandon Servania-A very mature performance from the midfielder, Servania constantly kept things ticking for the US and his shot from distance opened the scoring.(8.5/10)

 

8-Alex Mendez-A quality performance by Mendez who also scored in his third consecutive game for the stars and stripes. The LA Galaxy product linked up well with Llanez throughout the first half. A technically superb player who also had an assist on the night. (9/10)

17-Ayo Akinola- One of the top performers of the last U17 squad Akinola was one of the players I was most excited to see on the night. His pace and willingness to take on defenders were impressive but his decision-making at times was disappointing. (7/10)

 

9-Justin Rennicks-Rennicks worked hard, held up the ball well and for his efforts got two assists on the night. There are some aspects of his game that could be improved technically, but physically he seems to have a great platform. (8/10)

11-Ulysses Llanez-The 17 year old was, in my opinion, the most impressive player on the pitch. Despite being taken off just after the hour mark, Llanez caused the Trinidad and Tobago defenders problems for the entire time he was on. He was brave, showed no fear and tried things all game. He also scored in his third consecutive game and is currently the top scorer at the tournament despite being the second youngest player on the US squad. (9.5/10)

 

7-Juan Pablo Torres, 63-The Belgian based player replaced Llanez and was less of runner. He did add calm and quality in possession as the States continued to control the game. He scored the final goal of the game with a delightful finish over the Trinidad goalkeeper. (7/10)

 

13-Griffin Dorsey, 70 - Had one great chance that he failed to capitalize on. But ran hard and gave a good effort off the bench. (N/A)

 

20-Frankie Amaya, 82- Not enough time to impact the game. (N/A)

 

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