DeJuan Jones is for real! USMNT winners and losers as defender makes his case against Canada with dreamy assist

What can you say about the USMNT No. 1? He specifically asked to be here, choosing to join the Gold Cup squad rather than go on a much-needed vacation. And, goodness, the USMNT will be happy he made that choice. They wouldn't be here without him.

Turner has often gone untested in this tournament, and he largely was here. Canada's only two shots on target were their two goals. The first was Stephen Vitoria's penalty and the second was Jacob Shaffelburg's deflected knuckleball. Not much you can do there.

The USMNT goalkeeper, though, did do plenty in the shootout. He parried away Vitoria's opener as the Canada veteran attempted to go down the middle for a second time. He then made a stop on Liam Fraser, seizing back momentum after Brandon Vazquez's miss.

Turner is a penalty specialist, and he showed it again on Sunday night. The U.S. will hope they don't need to see that side of his game again during this run but, if they do, they'll feel pretty good about seeing Turner in goal.

It went about as well as they could have drawn it up. This Canada team, one without the likes of Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, wasn't one that could run up and down the field with the USMNT, so they didn't. They made this an ugly, physical, defensive affair as they waited for their moment.

And they got it. Shaffelburg's goal late in extra-time seemingly won Canada the match, and you can't say it wasn't deserved, even if they didn't really go forward with much gusto.

It wasn't to be, though. Moments later, Gianluca Busio's shot deflected into the net and penalties beckoned. From that first shootout shot, the USMNT had momentum and, by the end, it was clear that it was their day.

That'll be frustrating for Canada, who, despite a rough group stage, came within minutes of booking a spot in the semi-finals. That's two losses to the U.S. in a matter of weeks, and that'll sting for a program that feels it can and should be able to win these types of games over their rivals.

You won't see many better assists. With the game tied and just minutes remaining, Jones hit a world-class ball. Driving in on the left side, the New England Revolution star fired it forward, putting it on a platter for Vazquez, who would make no mistake. The U.S. was in the lead and, while Vazquez got the goal, Jones made it happen.

We know what happened next: Canada equalized and on we went. However, that shouldn't take away from that absolute peach of a pass from Jones, and it certainly won't spoil the memory his performance.

The New England Revolution star has been a standout this tournament, and it was no different on Sunday. Although he was a bit quieter for most of this one, that can be expected given the step up in competition. But then, with the game in the balance, boom. What a cross!

He was largely solid in the attack, although he did misplace a few too many passes. Defensively, he was everywhere, so you definitely can't fault him there. Few players in this tournament have stepped up as much as Jones, who has delivered assists in back-to-back games to keep the USMNT rolling.

It just isn't coming off for him, is it? Zendejas has been a frequent subject in these post-game discussions, and that is largely because of the expectations thrust upon him. He was teed up to be one of the stars of this tournament, a player that could take this opportunity and run with it to a role with the A-Team.

It's safe to say he hasn't seized that opportunity, though. For whatever reason, Zendejas has looked just a step off in everything he's done throughout the four games. He keeps starting, and he probably should because he is the most talented winger in this team right now, but nothing he does seems to work out.

Is it harsh to say he may be tumbling down the depth chart? Probably not. Zendejas has struggled at a level where he should be somewhat dominant. Maybe expectations were set too high, but, regardless of what your expectations were, the production just hasn't been there for the winger.

There are two games left, of course, so plenty can change, and he'll have to make it change if he wants to be in the conversation for those initial Gregg Berhalter camps.

He'll go overlooked by many, but he won't go overlooked here. Sands has been magnificent throughout this USMNT run and, once again, he helped own the middle of the field on Sunday night. He won eight duels across his 120 minutes, had 10 recoveries and completed nearly 85 percent of his passes. It's not flashy or anything, but Sands sure is effective.

The NYCFC star has made the No.6 role his own this summer and seems to be riding high after returning to MLS following is time at Rangers. Sands simply needs to play at this point in his career, and this tournament is offering a glimpse into how good he can be going forward.

He's not the most stylish player by any means, but he is a valuable player to have in the pool, especially for a team that has long been looking for a young No.6 to emerge as Tyler Adams' back-up.