Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average, don’t follow up
Player profile:
- Nationality: American
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 19/03/1997
- Current Club: San Jose Earthquakes
- Career: Minnesota Thunder (Y), San Jose Earthquakes, Reno 1868 (L)
- Position: Central Midfield
- Secondary Position: Right Midfield / Left Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Jackson Yueill had a good game at the heart of the San Jose midfield. The central midfielder was particularly impressive on the ball, using an excellent range of vision and high level of execution to make some very accurate long passes and switches of play. He was really able to open up the opposition on occasion, finding passes that allowed his team’s wingers to be in one v one situations with defenders. Yueill regularly dropped deep to collect the ball and find progressive passes and was composed in possession, rarely appearing to be rushed. He didn’t dribble with the ball often but linked up well with his teammates in tight areas, and put in some dangerous deliveries from corners.
When he did make a mistake and lose possession, the American reacted well, tracking back and making some good recoveries. Physically, the 5’10” midfielder challenged well in the air and seemed adequately strong. On occasion, Yueill’s defensive awareness let him down, leaving too big a gap behind him and in front of the defence, and he had less of an attacking impact in the second half as he man marked one of Colorado’s more dangerous midfielders as San Jose seeked to protect their lead.
Overall, a very promising display from the 23 year old who showed an impressive level of technical ability.
Rating: A2
Player profile:
- Nationality: American
- Age: 24
- Date of birth: 15/08/1995
- Current Club: San Jose Earthquakes
- Career: San Jose Earthquakes, Sacramento Republic (L), Reno 1868 (L)
- Position: Right Back
- Secondary Position: Central Midfield / 10
- Preferred foot: Right
Thompson played well at right back for San Jose, causing some real problems for the Colorado defence all game. The American’s movement and runs were the best part of his performance, regularly pushing high up the field to pin back the left winger and supporting his teammate at right wing with some good overlapping and underlapping runs. When he did get the ball, Thompson was confident and drove well with the ball at his feet, showing good strength, power and close control to beat the defender or win a foul. His first touch was consistently excellent and put him on the front foot straight away and he made some nice passes and put in some dangerous deliveries from wide areas as well as having a powerful shot palmed away for a corner.
For the most part, his defending was solid, standing up his man well and tracking runs, however, the 5’7″ right back struggled for pace at times, being beaten around the outside on a couple of occasions, one of which caused him to commit a cynical foul to receive a yellow card. He was also caught out once or twice by passes on the inside of him as his awareness let him down.
On the whole, an exciting attacking performance from Thompson, whilst he left a little room for improvement when defending.
Rating: A2 / B1
Player profile:
- Nationality: Argentine
- Age: 25
- Date of birth: 03/04/1995
- Current Club: San Jose Earthquakes
- Career: Huracán, Villarreal, Alavés (L), Valladolid (L), Boca Juniors (L), San Jose Earthquakes
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary Position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Cristian Espinoza looked dangerous at times playing on the right wing as his side cruised to a 3-1 victory. The Argentine winger linked up well with the overlapping runs of right back Tommy Thompson to cause problems for the Colorado defence. His interplay was impressive with some effective one-twos and he injected a good level of pace into the game. His close control allowed him to pose a threat to the opposition defender with the ball at his feet and he was strong with his back to goal when holding up the ball. His passing was to a good standard but his final ball was inconsistent.
Espinoza made some clever through balls and put in some dangerous crosses (one of which set up his team’s first goal) but he was also sometimes quite wayward with his final delivery or made the wrong decision when baring down on the opposition goal. The winger had two shots, one of which was wild from quite far out and the other from the best part of 25 yards beating the keeper but coming back off the post. Defensively Espinoza tracked back well but also had little to do as the full back who was marking him rarely ventured forward.
Overall, a decent display from the winger whose varied end product and decision making in the final third on the day were his only possible downfalls.
Rating: B1