Jurgen Klinsmann got his first taste of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying with a relatively easy victory over Antigua and Barbuda on Friday.

Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, and Herculez Gomez scored for the United States Men’s National Team in a 3-1 win over the tiny island nation that was a surprise to even make it to this round.

The U.S. continues Group A play on Tuesday with a road clash against Guatemala.

Michael Bradley and Herculez Gomez

Player Ratings (1-10)

GK: Tim Howard, 6. There was very little for Howard do against Antigua and Barbuda. He did have to tip a shot over the bar late in the second half.

D: Jose Torres, 5. Torres was miscast for a wingback role, but he did have some positive moments with distribution before the ruthless tackle that led to his early exit.

D: Clarence Goodson, 6. The sliding block toward the end of the first half was Goodson’s most memorable contribution, which is more reflective of the lack of attack from Antigua & Barbuda than Goodson’s authority on the game.

D: Carlos Bocanegra, 6. The Captain nabbed the early goal thanks to a smart run off a corner kick by Landon Donovan and a great header by Herculez Gomez. He was solid for the rest of the outing as well.

D: Steve Cherundolo, 6. The steady right back joined into the attack occasionally, but overall had a pretty quiet outing.

M: Maurice Edu, 5. In the first half, the ball stuck to Edu’s feet when he should have been spraying it around the field before the conservative Antigua defense could take shape.

M: Michael Bradley, 6. Bradley had his normal outing – commanded the midfield and enjoyed a few jaunts into the attack that nearly led to goals.

M: Jermaine Jones, 6. There was no need for Jones’ ‘nastiness’ against the lowly CONCACAF competition but he still delivered some crunching tackles. The Schalke 04 man fell in love with the long ball too much in the first half too.

F: Landon Donovan, 7. Donovan did well to set up all three goals, but he was also careless with possession on Antigua’s lone goal and nearly coughed up another in the dying moments. 

F: Herculez Gomez, 7. Gomez firmly planted his flag on the striker position in Klinsmann’s 4-3-3 formation. His goal was all determination, and that is exactly what you want from your forward in these scrappy affairs. 

F: Clint Dempsey, 6. Cute is not a word typically associated with Dempsey, but he was trying to be too clever with the ball around the goal on Friday. Sometimes, Deuce just needs to bury it into the back of the net.

Substitutes:

Oguchi Onyewu, 4. Plenty of questions need to be asked about Onyewu’s place with this team. The quality was definitely lacking on the Peter Byers’ goal – from the positioning to the decision, it was awful.  

Terrence Boyd, NR. Boyd is cap-tied to the U.S., which nearly netted him a 10 in these rankings.

Jozy Altidore, NR. Ten minutes of play did not reveal anything about Altidore’s fitness, but it hardly matters with how well Gomez is playing. 

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Gen. adidas Cup: Knockout Goal-scorers

TDS Boys Regional Rankings: Class of 2028

ECNL Girls PHX Spring U17 Standouts