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USA player ratings against Wales at World Cup: Pulisic stars, Ream shines, but three USMNT players get low grades in the draw

November 21, 2022
USA player ratings against Wales at World Cup: Pulisic stars, Ream shines, but three USMNT players get low grades in the draw
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The United States, in its first World Cup appearance in eight years, started average, securing a valuable point against Wales with a 1-1 draw, but also felt it left something on the table.

In the 45th minute of the first half, Tim Weah took the lead, but in the second half, when Wales equalized, the game got into trouble. Ultimately, they found that American defender Walker Zimmerman had fouled Gareth Bale to concede the penalty, and the Wales talisman made no mistake from the spot.

There are many positive and negative aspects of the game. Christian Pulisic and Tim Reim both had excellent performances, and Weah provided a crucial strike. Zimmerman’s mistake was costly, and the head coach was slow to respond.

Here’s a complete rundown of every U.S. player’s performance in the first game of Group B play at the 2022 World Cup.

Wales vs USA Player Ratings at World Cup 2022

The United States secured a point in the game, and there were both positives and negatives. The US dominated possession in the first half and took the lead late on after a Gareth Bale penalty.

First, the eleven players who started against Wales.

Matt Turner (Goalkeeper): 5

Matt Turner came up with the big moment, tipping Ben Davies’ header over the bar. Unfortunately, that was really the only positive moment of his game. He also guessed right on Bell’s penalty, and got a hand on it, but will consider himself unlucky not to get the save as the effort was a powerful laser, and registered a 1.00 xGOT number, meaning it was essentially anon. – Saveable.

Turner shook otherwise within moments of being summoned. He was caught out in no-man’s land at the corner, unsure of getting off his line, and almost conceded a late goal to come 40 yards out from the net to punch the ball in which would have given Wales a long-range chance. Open net if not for Kailyn Acosta’s foul.

The Arsenal man has been good in his cup appearances for the Gunners, but today, he was lucky not to be punished for the mistake.

Sergino Dest (right back): 7

AC Milan full backs were strong in this game. Dest racked up a whopping 83 touches in the match, and delivered 60 successful passes in 66 attempts, a 91 percent success rate. He wasn’t beaten by any dribblers, and his yellow card was soft on a day when the referee was poor.

While Dest may have liked him, failing to register a single cross, defensively he was much improved, and that is a positive.

Tim Reim (Centre back): 8

The Fulham defender, who forced his way into the U.S. team with good form at the club level, made it to the national team stage. Ream hit four of his six long balls, failing just five passes (93 percent) of his 73 attempts.

Defensively, Rem was brilliant, able to break back with astonishing pace for the 35-year-old and cope with the quickness of the Wales counter. He should be in line to start over.

Walker Zimmerman (Centre back): 5

For a defender who was so strong and important to this US team in World Cup qualifying, the penalty he conceded was out of character. It was an unforgivable mistake at the highest level, ultimately costing the United States two critical points.

Gareth Bale had his back to his goal and was looking for contact, and not just Zimmermann, but he left the referee no choice with a clumsy challenge from behind.

In a moment of little danger, on such a big stage, Zimmerman’s mistake was surprisingly costly. While he had a good game overall, especially in possession where he only lost the ball five times in 98 touches, we are unable to look past the costly mistake. If America fails to qualify for the knockout stages, this moment will be one to look back on as a big reason.

Anthony Robinson (left back): 6

“JD” surprisingly pushed his attack-minded counterpart further up the field on several occasions, giving Pulisic a brilliant overlapping presence.

Overall though, it wasn’t his best game in a US shirt. Robinson had 80 touches and lost possession 20 times, the costliest ratio in America’s possession. Most notably, he won just two of his eight ground duels, completing just one tackle.

Along with Gareth Bale, Robinson clearly had a less-than-stellar performance, but overall he played his part and kept Bale from being too much of a threat.

Tyler Adams (Central Midfield): 8

Tyler Adams was one of the best players on the field. He bombarded the back line with Wales counters and allowed the US to dominate possession, particularly in the first half. Adams completed four tackles, none of which were significant in the dying minutes of the game to stop Wales’ big chances in the penalty area.

The perfect choice for USMNT captain, Adams backed up the honor with a truly brilliant performance. America has a keeper in Adams, who will continue to develop at Leeds and shine in an American shirt.

Yunus Musah (Central Midfield): 7

As the first teenager to start a World Cup match for the United States, Musah continued to show why he is an invaluable part of the midfield.

After his 75 minutes of action, a tired Musah left everything on the field. It’s not a coincidence that the U.S. seems so disaffected with Musah off the field, as he is crucial to the ownership structure of this team.

Weston McKenney (Central Midfield): 5

It is clear that Weston McKenney is not fully fit after just a few weeks with a hamstring injury.

The Juventus midfielder is the clear starter in this squad, but without full fitness he cannot fully appreciate his talents on display. His 42 touches were miles behind his other midfield counterparts, and his 70 percent passing was well below that of his teammates.

McKenney did not win a single ground duel, and committed four fouls while earning none (the referee in this game, to be fair, was a disgrace). This is far from McKenney’s best performance, and he needs to be fit to be a real contributor going forward.

Tim Weah (right wing): 8

With the lone goal for the US in this game, Tim Weah made his mark on a tournament that his father, a former Ballon d’Or winner, never reached.

His energy on the wing was outstanding, and he was constantly involved with Sergeant and Pulisic in the attack. A 22/25 passing success rate is fantastic for an attacking player, and his crossing was as dangerous as his off-ball movement.

It’s possible that Gregg Berhalter will sit Weah in favor of a rested Gio Reyna or Brendan Aaronson against England, but that won’t be a knock on Weah, who remains vital to the team moving forward.

Josh Sargent (striker): 7

While Sargent wasn’t as dominant in front of goal as he might have hoped, he was still an important component of the American gameplan against Wales.

Most importantly, his hold-up play in Weah goal was crucial to the creation of the move. Sargent also had a chance in the first half when he got his header well but fired wide. Just 17 touches is below standard, but when he was involved, he was bright.

Christian Pulisic (left wing): 9

Man of the match for the United States, Christian Pulisic was brilliant from start to finish. Chris Mepham proved the best American player despite being constantly hacked up and down the field by Wales defenders, with Pulisic in particular in his sights.

Despite his lack of playing time for Chelsea, Pulisic brought his A+ game to the U.S. in a crucial game. He’s going to be the most important American player in this tournament, and if this performance is any indication, they’re in good hands.

If there’s one criticism of Pulisic, it’s that he was once again woeful in his set-piece delivery. But that’s an area he’s never been good at, and he shouldn’t be in that role in the first place. His struggles with dead-ball situations have been well documented, and now it’s up to the coaching staff to make the necessary changes.

Greg Berhalter (head coach): 6

The head man for the United States did all the tactics in the pre-match run-up, selecting the right starting lineup and attacking Wales in the right way to pin back the opposition and dominate the opening 45 minutes.

From the opening whistle, however, Berhalter was out-coached on the touchline by Rob Page. Pulisic being a take set-piece is worth the criticism alone, and his replacement was both late and off the mark.

Berhalter felt heavily criticized after the game for failing to bring Gio Reina into a chaotic game in which he could excel. It’s a fair criticism, though the selection of Jordan Morris is understandable, introducing the team’s best defensive winger to see the important point. Still, it is a practical replacement rather than an inspired one.

Substitutions were also slow, as Wales pinned the U.S. well for 10-15 minutes before reinforcements were ready. Meanwhile, Page didn’t hesitate, bringing on Kiefer Moore as a substitute at halftime to turn the game on its head.

The US head man did well to attack Wales from the opening whistle with various presses and an unpredictable lineup. After that, he fell short, and needed to regroup after losing two points.

Substitutes vs. Wales

Brendan Aaronson: 6

The “Medford Messi” didn’t get off to an amazing start, but he provided good energy off the bench. He touched the ball 30 times in 24 minutes, a very high volume for a very disjointed game at the time. He only won two ground duels, which is problematic against a team trying to counterattack at that point, but his presence was an overall positive.

Kellyanne Acosta: 6

If not for Kellyn Acosta’s absolutely critical foul on Gareth Bale to prevent the Wales frontman from taking a long-range shot into an open net, we might be talking about America’s loss rather than a hard-fought point. Acosta will have an important role in this contest coming off the bench, and he should be able to help keep things from getting out of hand late.

DeAndre Yedlin: 5

Yedlin had some good moments off the bench, including a late cross from very deep which picked out Wayne Hennessey for a punch that almost proved disastrous for Wales. He touched the ball big 21 times in 16 minutes but lost the ball 7 times in that period which is not good. He needs to calm down on the ball if he wants to spell Sergino Dest going forward again.

Haji Wright:

Unfair on Haji, who only had time to make an impact in a chaotic game, but he didn’t really leave a mark. He touched the ball seven times in 16 minutes, a good amount for a striker, but never had a chance to cause problems in front of the net.

Jordan Morris: 5

The criticism of Berhalter for bringing in Reyna is entirely fair, but the job he tasked Morris with — defend too much — was well executed. Morris only had three touches, but he did his best to keep Wales from completely blowing the game away. He was not for his attacking nature, he was going to defend in a chaotic situation, which he managed.

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