The US national team handled business despite playing a man down for more than 40 minutes on Saturday night, deservedly earning a spot in the Copa America Centenario quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over Paraguay.
All that was needed on this night was another Clint Dempsey strike and a whole lot of defensive gumption after DeAndre Yedlin was sent off mere moments out of intermission. As is often the case, the Red, White & Blue came up with just the right performance in a group stage closer.
A Reminder: The grades are dished out on a 10.0-point scale with "6" as an average mark. The ratings are also relative to pitch time, meaning that a 90-minute "7" is more impressive than one scored for a half-hour shift.
Starting XI
Brad Guzan (8.5)
The last line of defense came up big every time he was needed. Guzan read the cross perfectly to keep the game scoreless with an 18th-minute stop and added a strong double-save with nine minutes to go. In between, he racked up the rest of his six stops and made some assured rushes off his line.
DeAndre Yedlin (3.5)
The right back had a decent enough first half, during which he caused some stress for the visitors rushing into attack. Yedlin's first yellow card was an iffy call, but he failed to appreciate the situation mere seconds later when making an unnecessary challenge to draw his second and an early gate to put the team under heavy pressure the rest of the way.
Geoff Cameron (7)
Though he didn't help much when on the ball, Cameron was the definition of solid at the back. The Stoke City defender racked up a half-dozen clearances, three pass picks and a tackle, with all but one of those stops coming in or around the US area.
John Anthony Brooks (8.5)
While the Hertha Berlin back line marshal was beaten once near the break, he was huge the rest of the night. Brooks single-handedly shut down an early Paraguay 3-on-1, seemingly without breaking a sweat. By the end, he'd amassed a dozen area clearances and added a big late shot block for good measure.
Fabian Johnson (4)
The left back repeatedly put his team in Dutch with ill-advised maneuvers. Johnson's late step attempt caused the scary odd-man rush mentioned above, his flailing tackle attempt caused the need for Guzan's back-to-back saves and was caught up from a few cheap giveaways.
Michael Bradley (6.5)
The Toronto FC midfielder's biggest moment came in the opening moments, when he kept Dario Lezcano from getting a shot off when the Paraguay attacker got loose in the US area from a restart. For them on, Bradley kept it simple, both on the ball and off it.
Jermaine Jones (7)
Jones also played it low-key in this one, largely opting to hold positional integrity. Jones' fine work did help start the goal play and he ended up with nine total defensive stops, collected all over the pitch.
Gyasi Zardes (7.5)
Even though he lingered on the ball to squander a counter chance that would have given the hosts a cushion, this was probably the Galaxy man's finest technical showing of his USMNT career – if not easily so. Most notably, Zardes hypnotized his defender to send the perfect low cross for Dempsey to slam home the winner. He also got on his horse to relieve pressure on a handful of occasions, including one romp to escape trouble in the US box.
Alejandro Bedoya (6.5)
It was another "little things add up" showing from the Nantes workhorse, as he piled up a dozen defensive plays in 75 minutes. Like Bradley and Jones, Bedoya was also docked slightly for going into the book.
Clint Dempsey (7.5)
As he often does, good ol' Deuce came up with the perfect finish to win the game, giving himself 13 goals from his last 18 competitive caps in the process. Dempsey also linked well, completing all 11 of his build passes.
Bobby Wood (6.5)
It wasn't the easiest of nights for Wood, who never managed to pull the trigger and didn't get all the calls he wanted. The forward continued to show he lines up to battle, though, and his counter ramble set up the chance that Zardes fluffed.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (7)
Some of his individual player choices worked (sticking with Zardes) and some didn't (Johnson as left back), but the overall game plan was sturdy. Perhaps fans and journalists should tell the boss his job is in jeopardy every time out, because he tends to rein in the questionable personnel decisions and come through with results when the heat is on.
Subs
Michael Orozco (6)
Other than a shaky couple of minutes after his yellow card, it was pretty smooth sailing for the right back sub. He definitely needs to avoid over-hitting cutback crosses when the team is shorthanded.
Graham Zusi (6.5)
Though he was only on for 15 minutes and added time, Zusi came up with four defensive stops.
Kyle Beckerman (—)
The Real Salt Lake veteran was tidy during his brief cameo.
