Brad Evans was deployed at right-back for the USA on Sunday in their surprise 4-3 win over Germany in Washington.
The Seattle Sounders midfielder had hardly been used in that position prior to the weekend and excelled against a strike force boasting the likes of World Cup veteran Miroslav Klose and Arsenal ace Lukas Podolski.
Evans' performance for the US was not lost on head coach Juergen Klinsmann, who took the risk by throwing him in the deep end, as well as goalkeeper Tim Howard who was also full of praise for the 28-year old.
"He has the vision, he has the technique, he's strong and good in one-on-ones," Klinsmann said. "And he doesn't shy away from overlapping as well. We trained the last couple days and I saw that he was ready for it.
"This gives us now a good option. The ability is there and he took his chance, simple as that."
Howard added: "I thought he was good today. It was impressive. I was happy for him and happy for me because he locked it down over there."
