In the wake of Saturday’s embarrassing 5-1 loss to Colombia on Saturday, the U.S. men’s soccer team badly needed to deliver a response in its next time on the field.

That’s easier said than done when the opponent is Brazil.

But the Americans did in fact respond, and did so in impressive fashion. Christian Pulisic’s 26th-minute free kick matched Rodrygo’s 17th-minute opener, and the U.S. battled its way from there to a 1-1 tie before 60,016 fans in Orlando, Fla.

It’s just the second time in 20 matchups against the five-time World Cup champions that the U.S. hasn’t lost.

Goalkeeper Matt Turner also played a big role, making 11 saves — one more than Kasey Keller made when the U.S. notched its only win in the series, back in 1998. Brazil had won 11 straight since then, the longest unbeaten streak of any U.S. opponent (and it’s still going).

The early goals

U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter made two changes to the starting lineup from Saturday, Yunus Musah for Johnny Cardoso in midfield and Ricardo Pepi for Folarin Balogun at striker.

That produced concerns that the midfield wouldn’t have enough defense, and might get overrun by Brazil’s superstar attacking trio of Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, and Barcelona’s Raphinha.

In fact, the first half was the opposite. The U.S. played with far more hustle and bite than it did against Colombia. Not all of it showed up in the box score, but the eye test said plenty about closing down the five-time World Cup champions.

There was entertainment at the other end, too. Musah ripped a shot off the crossbar from 30 yards in the fifth minute, and it bounced down inches from the goal line. Pulisic followed with a testing close-range hit in the sixth, and Tim Weah launched from 23 yards in the 12th, both right at Brazil and Liverpool veteran goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

...continued

©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.