After stellar performances in his first two caps for the USMNT, San Jose Earthquakes defender Nick Lima was ranked No. 1 on Matthew Doyle's list of the biggest winners from January's U.S. Camp. The MLSsoccer.com senior writer gave Lima high praise for fitting seamlessly into U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter's new tactical system.
"Lima played the position in a way it's basically never been played for the US, and in a way it's only played by a few teams on the international level" said Doyle.
In his USMNT debut against Panama, Lima drew the attention of U.S. fans everywhere when he orchestrated the team's second goal of the match .
WHAT. A. TACKLE.
— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) January 28, 2019
WHAT. A. BALL.@nick__lima with an assist in his #USMNT debut!pic.twitter.com/BI8o0m1JWU
Following Lima's Man of the Match performance against Panama, the thought of him starting in the USMNT's second friendly against Costa Rica was nearly guaranteed.
Lima went on to start against the Ticos and helped the U.S. secure a clean sheet in their 2-0 victory at Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes.
"Lima has gone from 'wow, I'm surprised to see he got the call for January' to 'wow, I'll be surprised if he doesn't get the call for the Gold Cup come June.' Nobody made a bigger leap this past month than Lima did." To read MLSsoccer.com's full article on Lima, click here.
