The United States men’s national team showed an improved performance on Wednesday as Christian Pulisic canceled out a Rodrygo strike for Brazil as both teams settled for the tie at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, to wrap up their preparations for the Copa America.
After a demoralizing 5-1 defeat to Colombia last week, which received resounding criticism from fans and pundits alike, head coach Gregg Berhalter made a couple of personnel changes in his trusted 4-3-3 formation. Yunus Musah replaced Johnny Cardoso in the midfield while Ricardo Pepi got the nod at center-forward in the place of Folarin Balogun.
The Americans threatened just four minutes into the contest when Musah, who is still in search of his first international goal, fired a wicked shot from distance that came crashing off the frame of the goal and the back of Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker. They kept the aggressive play going a minute later when Pulisic collected the ball from Antonee Robinson and made a darting run from the left before unloading a shot that was well saved.
It was a good start to the game for the U.S., but the star-studded Brazilian side broke the scoreless deadlock in the 17th minute when Matt Turner’s pass was intercepted and picked up by Raphinha. He then passed it on to Rodrygo on the left side of the 18-yard box to bury home.
The hosts were behind, but they did not give up their relentless attack as Tim Weah tried to respond with an attempt from outside the box in the 19th minute, but Alisson was able to control it with ease. Turner would then be called into service two minutes later when Rodrygo ran onto a ball played over the top. The Real Madrid winger was one-on-one with the netminder but did well to force the ball out of play.
The U.S. then got their chance to level the score in the 26th minute when Pulisic was clipped on the edge of the box by Joao Gomes. The captain then took responsibility for taking the free-kick and made it count as he exploited the open space on the right side of the Brazilian wall and blasted a powerful shot into the back of the net.
The second half would remain scoreless, but the U.S. side was able to hold its nerve among the chances Brazil had to retake the lead. Turner would turn up big time to make some crucial saves to keep the score level. His best perhaps came in the 66th minute when the ball was played into space for Endrick. The teen phenom was well ahead of Ream to take a well-placed shot, but the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper was on the spot to avert the danger.
The U.S. also had its chance to grab the win with Pulisic missing a golden chance to score his second in the 68th minute. Joe Scally would play the ball to Weston McKennie who then found the No. 10 wide-open in the 18-yard box. However, Alisson would make the reaction save to keep the ball away from the goal.
Brenden Aaronson then had a chance in the 82nd minute when Pulisic centered the ball towards the midfielder, but Alisson would once again be in the right place to make the save. Pulisic had another chance in the 85th minute, but his shot went just wide of the mark.
Overall, it was a much better performance and one that should give the team some confidence as they head into group play in the Copa America with their first game taking place on June 23 against Bolivia.
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