For the first time in the history of the program, the United States men’s national team held Brazil to a draw. Gregg Berhalter challenged his side following the lopsided 5-1 loss to Colombia over the weekend and the players responded in a big way with a 1-1 draw against Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and company. Outside of Rodrygo’s opener for Brazil, it was Christian Pulisic’s free-kick equalizer in the first half and Matt Turner’s 11 saves that stole the spotlight at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Now it’s time for the USMNT to regroup and prepare for their opening Copa America match against Bolivia on June 21. But before we look ahead, let’s reflect on how the team performed:
Goalkeeper: Matt Turner
Distribution aside, Matt Turner was excellent. He made a whopping 11 saves — the most by any American goalkeeper since Tim Howard’s 15 against Belgium at the 2014 World Cup — and it felt like each stop was as stunning as the next. Perhaps Turner needed a match to shake off rust from not playing regularly at Nottingham Forest. More of that and the USMNT may have a real chance at Copa America. He takes home my player of the match honors.
Rating: 8
Right back: Joe Scally
Joe Scally may have needed help on defense at times, but who wouldn’t when your defensive assignment is Vinicius Junior. Combined with Tim Weah and Reyna, Scally was able to keep Vini and the action in front of him by winning all three of his tackles. That’s your Copa America starting right back and he’s going to come into the tournament with confidence.
Rating: 7
Center back: Chris Richards
Had a weird moment where he received a yellow card but it was rescinded during a check to see if it was a red but Richards was mostly solid. There were too many moments during which Brazil had shots on goal but that was more down to not having a shield like Tyler Adams in front of the defense than it was down to the perofornace of Richards and Tim Ream who were where they needed to be at most times.
Rating: 6
Center back: Tim Ream
Calm in his decision making without Ream’s passing ability, there are quite a few situations that the USMNT doesn’t get out of since they were adamant on playing out of the back. If this was a competitive match, Brazil may have gone at the central defenders harder but they did what they needed to do.
Rating: 6
Left Back: Antonee Robinson
After one of his shakiest matches in a USMNT shirt against Colombia, Antonee Robinson responded well against Brazil. He went forward when he needed to get the attack involved creating the joint-most chances on the team alongside Weston McKennie with three. But even while doing that, Robinson didn’t neglect his defensive responsibilities keeping Raphinha well contained during the game.
Rating: 7
Midfielder: Yunus Musah
Rattling the crossbar with a strike in the first half, Yunus Musah was unlucky to not score. While he’s still raw in plenty of areas of his game, he may be the most unpredictable member of the USMNT midfield after Reyna. Able to dribble out of tight angles and win the ball back, Musah was able to keep Brazil on their toes and deserved a goal.
Rating: 6
Midfielder: Gio Reyna
It wasn’t a vintage Gio Reyna game, but in some ways that’s a good thing. Since not featuring much during the World Cup in Qatar, he has worked on improving his defensive work rate since his spare playing time at the Qatar World Cup, and it has showed. He made a tackle along with four ball recoveries as he was a constant pest in midfield. It’s clear that against top teams Reyna needs to be on the pitch. And if Tyler Adams isn’t fully at 100% for Copa America, then Reyna will be one of the first names on the team sheet.
Rating: 6
Midfielder: Weston McKennie
McKennie did a little bit of everything as he popped up in attack and defending. While it feels like he could’ve done more with the ball at his feet, he was still facing Brazil — a tough draw for any player. McKennie is at his best when he’s on the ball more, but he made as much as he could with the opportunities he had.
Rating: 6
Forward: Tim Weah
Split between focusing on defense and getting involved in the attack, Weah did a good job of showing what he has learned from playing at wing back. He was still able to test Alisson with two shots on target. You’re going to want Weah unleashed in the attack once the tournament begins.
Rating: 5
Forward: Ricardo Pepi
Making his first start of 2024, Pepi had a thankless task of pressing Brazil into making errors playing out of the back. While he didn’t register a shot, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t make an impact. Berhalter will have tough decisions about what he does against Uruguay at striker during the group stage. Balogun should still be the preferred option in games where the Americans are favored.
Rating: 5
Forward: Christian Pulisic
Earned a free kick, and the buried it after a bit of trickery from the USMNT to fool Alisson in the net. An inventive finish and a strong work rate from the team captain, Pulisic could’ve had a brace and an assist if this were a weaker opponent. While there was room for improvement, this was leading by example from Pulisic in a bounce-back match.
Rating: 7
Substitute: Folarin Balogun
Coming off the bench, Balogun got a shot off but didn’t see many touches as Brazil pushed for a winning goal.
Rating: 5
Substitute: Tyler Adams
After dealing with a back injury to finish the season, it’s just good to see Tyler Adams back and on the pitch. Tidy in a small role, hopefully he can build on that at Copa America.
Rating: 5
Substitute: Brenden Aaronson
Almost had a winner in the match but was denied by Alisson from close range. Just the kind of performance that you want coming off the bench.
Substitute: Johnny Cardoso
Came on to slow the game down and also was on the ball often. He didn’t really put a foot wrong in an important appearance off the bench.
Rating: 6
Substitute: Shaq Moore
Committed some fouls to keep Brazil off balance and also spelled Scally.
Rating: N/A
Manager: Gregg Berhalter
Berhalter got the reaction needed out of his players following the 5-1 drubbing. They pressed and looked much more driven. This had shades of the World Cup draw against England where the USMNT absorbed pressure and got a point against all odds. This isn’t a team that can’t go toe to toe with Brazil without some luck. Accepting that and doing what they could to hold Brazil was a positive.
Rating: 7
