The U.S. continues to be haunted by giving up goals inside the final 15 minutes as Valentin Stocker stabbed home from an 80th minute corner kick to spare the home side’s blushes after a tepid performance at the Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland. The Yanks were leading by a sole goal before Jozy Altidore was dismissed for a second yellow.
The goal cancelled out a brilliant free kick from Brek Shea right on the stroke of halftime.
The U.S. started the brighter of the two sides as Gyasi Zardes got free down the right and put in a dangerous cross, but there was no urgency by any U.S. players to get on the end of what would have been a tap in.
Zardes himself was on the end of a Alejandro Bedoya cross in the 15th, but skied his effort. To be fair to the Galaxy striker, it would have taken something special to convert.
The Stars and Stripes continued to find space on the right and in the 27th minute Bedoya was released into the channel. This time it followed excellent hold-up and combination play by Jozy Altidore. Bedoya pulled the ball back for Michael Bradley. The captain was poised to score his second goal in as many meetings with the Swiss, but uncharacteristically smashed his effort into the upper stands from the top of the six.
The U.S. were finally rewarded for its enterprise with the last kick of the first-half. Alfredo Morales did well to step around a defender in midfield and chase down his heavy touch to poke the ball past the second defender before being pulled down at the top of the box.
Up stepped Brek Shea who curled his left-footed effort over the wall and into the near corner. Swiss keeper Roman Bürki should have gotten over quicker, but Shea deserves the credit for curling the ball just over the head of the wall not unlike the highly applauded Gareth Bale goal for Wales in Israel.
The U.S. looked to be in cruise control in the second half as the Swiss continued to defend narrowly and allow the likes of Timothy Chandler and Shea to get forward from their outside back positions.
Chandler put a service into the near post. Zardes did well to dart in front of the keeper, but his back header landed on the wrong side of the far post.
Bürki was quicker to respond to Chandler’s next cross, but his diving punch fell right to Bradley. This time the Toronto FC midfielder put his effort on target, but it was cleared away by some last ditch defending.
Meanwhile, Xherdan Shaqiri was the only player in white that seemed to be causing any sort of trouble for the U.S. defense. That would change, however, when Altidore was given his marching orders in the 68th minute receiving a double yellow for a foul and then dissent.
Altidore’s petulance put the US on the back-foot as Switzerland found a new lease on life.
In the final 20 minutes Shea was exposed on the wing as substitute Breel Embolo skipped by him and John Brooks but William Yarbrough, who replaced Rimando at halftime, was well positioned to parry the cross to safety.
The U.S. got caught out on two quickly taken corners in succession and were lucky that Pajtime Kasami put his header over after the 2nd corner had floated beyond the reach of Yarbrough at the far post.
The Red, White, and Blue did not learn its lesson and were undone by another series of two corners in a row. This time a dangerous early cross from Silivan Widmer almost led to an own goal, but the U.S. was lucky to see the deflection skip just wide of the post.
Yarbrough punched the corner from the right over the crossbar when he probably could have fielded it cleanly.
The corner from the left proved to be one too many for a U.S. defense that had gone from composed to frantic as Morales got tangled up with another another defender causing the ball to hit off his head and fall right to the feet of Stocker for the easiest of finishes.
Whether it was the Swiss performance or the fact that the finish was too easy, Stocker couldn’t even crack a smile. Neither could Jurgen Klinsmann or his staff on the U.S. bench as they must now go back to the drawing board and figure out why they have conceded 15 goals in the final 15 minutes of the last 15 games.
That longstanding issue should also not be allowed to detract from the possibility that the Yanks may have won had Altidore maintained his discipline. Sadly, with Dempsey injured, he may be able to relax safe in the knowledge that he walks into Klinsmann’s side.
