Chile 1 – USA 2
Tony Meola (4). Had little to do. Superb stop on Jaime Riveros in the 16th minute. Was unconvincing coming off his line, twice whiffing while trying to punch the ball away, leaving the Chileans opportunities they wasted. Greg Vanney (8). Won virtually every battle he entered, shut down Mario Nunez, made two goal-saving plays – poking Riveros’ rebound away before Nunez could reach it and cutting off a low cross meant for Sebastien Rozental – and delivered several good long passes.
Eddie Pope (7). Classy showing at sweeper, organizing a defense that surrendered just two decent chances. Was strong on the ball and got forward in dead-ball situations. Dominated in the air and helped C.J. Brown overcome Rozental.
C.J. Brown (5). Found Rozental to be a handful early on, but improved as the game wore on, dominating the battle in the second half. Recovered well when beaten, but was pushed up near midfield on Riveros’ 16th-minute try.
Richie Williams (6). Battled often, and successfully, as one of two defensive midfielders. Didn’t get forward often but was effective when he did – his cross led to Eric Wynalda’s 20th-minute opportunity.
Chris Armas (4). Did well in shutting off the Chilean attack after Jaime Riveros’ 16th-minute chance but struggled with the ball nearly the entire game. Gave Riveros 5 yards and 2.86 seconds (hand-timed) to set up his blast past Meola. Late, great, weaving run past six defenders into the Chile box.
Eddie Lewis (6). Brilliant header for the first goal, even better cross for the second. Struggled with his touch early but improved in the second half. His steal started the sequence that led to the first goal. Bizarre hand-ball incident (with Brown down hurt, the U.S. kicks the ball out of bounds; Chile returns it to the field; Lewis picks it up) led to the Chilean goal.
Ben Olsen (4). Seemed tired from the start, often caught ballwatching, but provided danger on occasion. Gave a nice ball to Jovan Kirovski near the net just after halftime. Yellow card for putting his forearm into Mauricio Aros’ face.
Jovan Kirovski (4). Effectiveness limited by Chilean DMF Marcos Villaseca. Missed two decent chances from 10 yards, firing wide both times. Struggled with his touch early. Nifty header set up Wynalda’s chance.
Ante Razov (4). Did plenty of little things right and displayed a classy touch at times. Created little when given the opportunity, usually surrendering the ball. Lacked aggressiveness in the box.
Eric Wynalda (6). Wonderful cross for Lewis’ goal capped off a very active evening. Constantly went at the Chilean defense and nearly scored early on. Struggled to find a relationship with Razov and was sometimes deceived by his touch.
SUBSTITUTES
John Harkes (5). Came on for Williams and offered more support to the U.S. attack. Sent in a pair of crosses that could have led to more.
Roy Lassiter (4). Did little in 37 minutes. Looked clumsy with the ball, save a nice little backheel to Chad Deering near the end, and useless while trying to head a Lewis cross.
Cobi Jones (6). Beautifully volleyed Lewis’ 88th-minute cross low and inside the far post, past a sprawled Marcelo Ramirez, to give the U.S. victory. Found himself in physical battles on the wing after coming on with 20 minutes to play.
Chad Deering (NR). Replaced Kirovski near the end, adding defensive acumen to close off the match.