For the first 45 minutes against Brazil, the Americans mostly chased the ball and their superior opponents. However, in the second half the U.S. had more chances but they still were on the wrong end of a humbling 4-1 defeat at FedEx Field in Landover, MD.
As always with friendlies, the final result is much less meaningful than what your team can get out of it. In that sense, I'd say this was a a worthwhile time for Jurgen Klinsmann's team since they learned that they can play with Brazil (when they want to). They also realized how many things they have to tighten up in order to consistently compete at that level.
The match was basically lost in the first 26 minutes as Brazil put up two quick goals for a 2-0 lead. Oguchi Onyweu's hand ball resulted in a successful penalty kick by Neymar in the 12th minute.
Neymar was at it again 14 minutes later as his corner kick found Thiago Silva's head.
Despite rarely possessing the ball (an important concept in soccer), the U.S. pulled one back in the 45th minute when Herculez Gomez scored in his first start for the U.S. in almost two years. Michael Bradley made a nice run and hit Fabian Johnson with a through ball down the left flank. Johnson crossed it to the goalline and Gomez was there to run through it.
Brazil's latest budding superstar Neymar picked up his second assist in the 52nd minute by finding an unmarked Marcelo in the box, 3-1 Brazil.
Gomez nearly scored again in the 64th minute but his header from Johnson's cross was cleared off the line, Clint Dempsey had a chance to get it but he went to the ball with his wrong foot.
Neymar and Pato missed out on a carbon copy of Marcelo's goal in the 67th minute, Pato's shot beat Tim Howard but went off the post.
The U.S. buzzed Brazil's goal for about a 10-minute stretch there as Gomez's shot (from Dempsey) was saved and Cabral (Brazil's goalkeeper) made a nice stop on the rebound shot by Terrence Boyd. Off a U.S. corner, Bradley's header was tipped over the crossbar and Onyewu hit the bar with his header on Donovan's free kick.
Gooch's rough night was capped off by keeping Pato onside as the Brazilian forward made the most of his second chance, in the 87th minute, putting it low and hard into the side netting.
My takeaway from this game is that Gomez is playing the best soccer of his life, ditto for Bradley and Johnson has already solved the U.S.' black hole at left back. Nobody in their right mind expected the U.S. to beat Brazil and the long odds of that were compromised by the terrible start. Still, the U.S. didn't fold and they kept fighting. They also played much better in the second half and created many opportunities; I worry that finishing will continue to be an issue against the top-level squads like Brazil.
Only one more exhibition before the U.S. men begin 2014 World Cup qualifying a week from Friday against Antigua and Barbuda in Tampa Bay, FL. The U.S. will meet Canada on Sunday night (7 p.m., NBC Sports) in Toronto. It should be a fun way to prepare for the truly meaningful games. Win or lose, I can't get too worked up about friendlies.
Tweet
Follow @RichSlate
No comments:
Post a Comment