International Roundup: Plata impresses, Rimando human, Saborio cameo

Nick Rimando played 90 minutes for the United States last night, Joao Plata stole the show for Ecuador, and Alvaro Saborio had a cameo appearance for Costa Rica as RSL's international departees rounded out this break.

Rimando looked definitively human against Honduras — he had one mistake that could have proved costly when he distributed the ball directly to Honduras's Andy Najar, best known 'round these parts for his time with DC United.

The United States conceded a goal late in the match when non-existent marking on a set piece from a very good position caught Rimando off his line. The marking — non-existent as it may have been — was decidedly poor, leaving Rimando in a relative no-man's-land.

Still, he had a fine match otherwise, and he'll be perturbed with the marking that led to the Honduras goal. Jermaine Jones, who was playing center back rather than his usual midfield spot, and whose poor marking was at fault, shoulders a chunk of the blame, but his being placed in that situation in the first place.

Joao Plata, as we discussed yesterday, rather stole the show for Ecuador, although you might argue Enner Valencia did the same. Plata played behind the central striker for most of the occasion, floating around laterally and picking up the ball wide before cutting centrally. That second-striker role is one we don't necessarily use at RSL, with Javier Morales occupying the space a second-striker would.

Plata scored two goals (you can find those here) and was generally fantastic. As usual.

Alvaro Saborio came off the bench in Costa Rica's 3-1 win over Korea Republic, playing a scant four minutes before the whistle.