USMNT player ratings: Robinson, Acosta star in Gold Cup Final takedown of Mexico

After getting away with a bad ball-handling flub in the opening moments, Turner got back to usual business.

The Atlanta United left back didn’t have much impact getting forward, but his defensive work was key in the shutout.

To top it all off, he nodded home the 117th-minute winner to become just the second American to lift the US past Mexico in a Gold Cup final.

While Sands fared well with his aerial challenges, there were tough turnovers, lost marks and iffy clearances.

The first half was rough for Acosta, who couldn’t advance passes out of the back and was having all sorts of trouble containing Hector Herrera.

Like Acosta, the Portland Timbers midfielder was having a devil of a time trying to help the USMNT out of their end in the first half.

It’s been a long while since I’ve seen the Columbus forward’s hold-up game waver, and it took him until the second extra period to get a shot off.

While the Schalke forward fired a few threatening shots at Mexico’s goal, this was his least well-rounded outing of the tournament.

The coach seemed quite content to have his team squeak out yet another 1-0 victory, and some of his maneuvers helped make that happen.

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