The last time the United States men’s national team did anything against Brazil but lose, precisely three of the USA starters from Wednesday night’s game in Orlando had been born. On Feb. 10, 1998, none had yet been identified as a future pro soccer player. Tim Ream, the senior member of the trio, was all of eight years old.Best porn XXX. That’s how long it had been: 26 years, four months, two days. In that time, Brazil won 11, the U.S. lost 11. The composite score: Brazil 28, USA 8. Now, those are some numbers for coach Gregg Berhalter’s myriad critics, who’d become so inventive with statistics in recent days, to ponder. Because in the USMNT’s final friendly in advance of their entry to the Copa America 2024 tournament, they held Brazil to a 1-1 draw. MORE: Copa America bracket and full schedule | Copa America stadiums: Full list of venues In the 17th minute, a turnover from goalkeeper Matt Turner on an errant goal kick set up Real Madrid’s Rodrygo for a successful strike. But American hero Christian Pulisic earned a dangerous free kick in the 25th minute with a run toward the top of the box, then scored off a clever set play with a beautiful shot stung well to the left of Brazil’s wall, slightly beyond the fingertips of star goalkeeper Alisson and just inside the left post. The Turner Sports crew was so stunned the Americans would score, they added the goal to Brazil’s total on the on-screen scoreline and took a couple minutes to correct the error. So where does that leave the “Berhalter out” crowd now? They were raging in anger following Saturday’s horrific performance in a 5-1 friendly loss against Colombia. They were pointing out Berhalter had won only one game against top-20 FIFA opponents (excluding Mexico). Why exclude Mexico? Because in a period of time constricted by the COVID-19 pandemic and with fewer friendly opportunities against European squad available because of the introduction of UEFA’s Nations League competition, Mexico represented 44 percent of the USMNT’s top-20 opponents under Berhalter. And he is 5W-1L-2D against El Tri. It served the “Berhaters” to damn him with a small sample size. Well, how about a small sample size of one game? After U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner was at best questioned and at worst excoriated for not repelling enough of Colombia’s rampage, he set a career-high with 11 saves and became the first USMNT keeper to make double-digit stops since Tim Howard’s magnum opus against Belgium at the 2014 World Cup. This game wasn’t like that one, which represented a Belgian siege on the American goal. The U.S. had probably the best chance to win the Brazil game, on a Pulisic shot in the 68th minute that required a terrific save by Alisson but could have been placed where the keeper had no chance. Brazil dominated the ball and got off 25 shots, but many of them were speculative. Berhalter showed a degree of defensive flexibility by aligning the Americans in both high and low blocks, and he insisted upon a level of intensity and attention to detail that turned creative midfielder Gio Reyna into a box-to-box demon and drew numerous deep interventions from speedy forward Timothy Weah. Right back Joe Scally faced one of the world’s most gifted players and allowed Vinicius Jr. to attempt six shots but almost always was positioned to drain at least some of the threat from them. “We talked to the guys before the game, and we just asked two things of them: We asked for teamwork and intensity,” Berhalter told reporters. “The way we framed it is: two things that are totally in their control. It doesn’t matter about the opponent. It doesn’t matter about the field or the fans or anything. Those are things they can control. And that’s the type of effort that we saw today. “We feel like we made a little step. It’s not a huge step, but it’s a little step, to be able to play against an amazingly talented Brazil team and bend but not break and, I think, give them problems as well, push them as well.” Berhalter may be the least popular sitting USMNT coach ever, though he has won a greater percentage of games, and gained results from a greater percentage of games, than any of the six men who’ve coached at least 60 games. MORE: As Copa approaches, Gregg Berhalter is on the hot seat Some of that is the product of social media’s appetite for negativity. Some is the escalating expectations engendered by the enhanced club achievements of the team’s roster. The Colombia game fed into all of that. “There was a lot of talk among the players, ourselves, and I think at the end of the day, tactics doesn’t matter, who’s out there shouldn’t ever matter. It’s about representing something bigger than yourself,” goalkeeper Matt Turner told TNT’s Brian Dunseth. “When you put on this crest, there’s a certain level of expectation. And we need to know that, friendly or not, it doesn’t matter. You’re the USA, and you’re going to play in Copa America and you’re going to play against South American teams that don’t like you very much and want to prove a point. And we have to have a certain level of intensity every time we step out on the pitch that we lacked in the Colombia game – but we had tonight.” Berhalter still faces the expectation of an acceptable performance at Copa America, starting with the June 23 Group C game against Bolivia. This tournament represents the last great chance to evaluate the program in advance of the World Cup’s arrival in the U.S. in the summer of 2026. What the USMNT does not need is any of the juvenile pre-complaining that dominates too much of our sporting discourse: If you lose this game, we’re going to be really mad! That was the attitude presented by too many in advance of the U.S. vs. Brazil. The U.S. did not lose to the Brazilians, for the first time in a very long time. No one needs to apologize for their grumbling, but perhaps everyone can quiet down. At least for a while. Mike DeCourcy is a Senior Writer at The Sporting News
