The USMNT held Brazil to a 1-1 draw in Orlando for their final tune-up before Copa America. Their first group stage match will be on June 23 against Bolivia. Brazil was an excellent team and well drilled. While the US had to adapt to a slightly different and more passive style of play I actually think that benefited us and our player strengths.
This match served as a much needed confidence boost after the 5-1 shellacking from Colombia. There were three keys to this match that I want to discuss and three standout players which I will cover in player ratings. Let’s start with the player who is the most unique in the entire talent pool: Yunus Musah.
Musah holds the key to unlocking defenses for the US but it comes with some difficult to reconcile drawbacks. There were moments in this match where you could see exactly why Musah needs to be considered especially when playing against highly technical teams.
His dribbling ability to transition the ball from defense to attack and by himself create moments where the defenders are running towards their own goal is the equivalent value of multiple extra players on the field.
The one possession-based drawback for Musah is his desire to take that one extra touch which usually results in the passing lane closing or the chance to be lost. This is an ongoing issue with him that he will improve on, but it’s frustrating when he is so good and so effective at what he does without the end passing product.
His shot off the crossbar and onto Alisson’s back would have bounced back in 99 times out of 100, and we’ve seen him take those shots before. His shooting is not an issue, it’s his decision making and timing of the final pass.
We see here again how spatially aware he can be and then that burst of speed to put the US onto the front foot.
The second key last night for the US was their confidence in building from the back while adding a touch of longball. Brazil is not a high-pressing team but there were moments where they tried to win balls in dangerous positions.
For the most part, Tim Ream and Chris Richards as a centerback pairing showed well especially when under pressure. Against a team like Brazil, this sequence of passes and the ability to break the press would have never seen the light of day outside of the Berhalter era. Let’s give credit where it’s due when it does work and when we do find danger through possession.
The last tactical wrinkle I want to highlight from last night was our willingness to drop deeper and hold a lower line of confrontation.
The ‘line of confrontation’ refers to the point on the field where a team chooses to start pressing or defending against the opposition. It is a strategic line that players use to decide when to engage the attacking team and attempt to win the ball back.
Teams may set their line of confrontation at different points on the field, depending on their tactical approach.
So for the United States against Brazil, where we would usually choose to hold a very high line and press the ball closer to the opponent’s box, we were very willing to drop deeper and what I would call “spring load” our attack. A counterattack works because the team that just lost the ball is out of position and has to defend while running towards their own goal.
The United States took advantage of a few of these moments and we had some of our most dangerous chances by defending deeper and breaking quickly with Weah and Pulisic on the wings. The start of those chances is the lower line of confrontation.
Onto player ratings! 1-10 (5 is average)
Matt Turner - 6
Turner’s shot stopping ability was back on full display. A confident Turner with big paws is our best chance at making a deep run at Copa America. BUT he is still a liability with his feet and the goal that Brazil scored started from a bad decision and bad execution from Turner’s feet.
However, he made multiple huge saves and overall allowed the United States to be in the running to win the match.
Antonee Robinson - 5
I thought Jedi patrolled the left side of the US’ defense well keeping Raphina in check. However, we still aren’t seeing the best of Robinson as his crossing and dribbling ability either didn’t work or almost got us into trouble.
A much better performance than we saw against Colombia, but still below his ability level.
Tim Ream - 5
Ream was good in possession but did get caught in awkward defensive positions throughout the match. Again - a better performance than what we saw against Colombia but it remains to be seen if he should absolutely be Richard’s CB partner.
Chris Richards - 6
Richards was good in the air, confident with his feet, and gave fans only a mild heart attack when his yellow card foul was reviewed for a red card infraction which was ultimately resolved as no foul at all. This was hopefully a confidence booster for Chris as he steps into CB1 territory for the USMNT.
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