USA Draws with Brazil in Final Friendly Before Copa América
After an ugly 5-1 loss to Colombia four days ago, the United States needed a positive result against Brazil to regain some momentum heading into the Copa América tournament. USA was looking to end a 26-year losing streak to Brazil, with the last win being a 1-0 victory in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup. USA head coach Gregg Berhalter has been under serious pressure and needed a bounce-back result against a Brazil side that featured the likes of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Bruno Guimaraes, and Alisson. A 1-1 result against the South American giants was a fair and respectable result for a struggling USA side.
The United States nearly took an early lead in the fifth minute. Yunus Musah fired one from the edge of the box, but his shot rattled off the crossbar. The United States couldn’t keep Brazil out for long, as an interception off a Matt Turner kick saw Rodrygo get picked out in space. Rodrygo calmly slotted his effort past Turner to give Brazil the lead, but the United States did not go down without a fight.
Christian Pulisic, otherwise known as “Captain America,” rocketed his free-kick low past Alisson’s right-post. The shot beat Brazi’s wall and could not have been hit any better. Both sides were level at halftime, but the United States was the happier team. The second half saw both teams push for the game-winner, but Turner and Alisson made huge saves to keep the game level. The end-to-end action did not result in any more goals, though, and the match ended 1-1.
Brazil dominated possession, owning 61 percent of the ball and attempting 24 shots, double the USA's. Brazil placed 12 of its 25 shots on target, but Turner made 11 huge saves. Those 11 saves are the most by a USA goalkeeper since Tim Howard recorded 15 saves against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup. This result will give the USA confidence heading into the Copa América when they open their tournament against Bolivia on June 23rd. The United States are favorites to advance out of their group, competing against Bolivia, Panama, and Uruguay.
