On a balmy evening in Orlando, Florida, the United States men’s national team hoped to show that their 5-1 thrashing of Colombia was a fluke and that they could handle the pressure from the big sides.
In front of more than 60,000 fans in the former Citrus Bowl, the Americans bowed, but did not break as they did against Los Cafateros. Instead, the United States looked up to Brazil for the task against a Seleção side that at times seemed to struggle to take this match seriously.
After going down early, the Americans responded with a free kick from Christian Pulisic and the 1-1 score was held from minute 26 – with neither team able to create meaningful chances in the second half.
The Americans spent the second half settling for a siege from the Brazilians, often throwing most of their squad behind the ball and managing to earn their first draw against the Seleção.
But as Brazil continued to search and find spaces between the US backline, goalkeeper Matt Turner avenged his poor display against Colombia with a 10-save night and a man of the match performance.
Christian Pulisic scored a free kick to secure a 1-1 draw against Brazil on Wednesday evening
American goalkeeper Matt Turner had a man-of-the-match performance with a ten-save effort
The Americans immediately tried to surprise Brazil with a Yunus Musah lightning bolt from more than 30 meters away that just hit the crossbar.
But it was the Seleção who struck first after Chris Richards failed to mark Rodrygo properly. A sliderule pass from Raphinha found the Real Madrid star’s boots, giving them a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute.
It didn’t take long for the Americans to respond after Pulisic was fouled at the top of the penalty area.
On the ensuing free-kick, the AC Milan winger completely avoided the wall and still managed to beat Liverpool keeper Alisson at the right post to level the score.
THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT STORY. MORE TO FOLLOW.