Pulisic nets equaliser as USA hold Brazil in Copa America tune-up
Gregg Berhalter’s second spell as USA head coach was threatening to unravel, with the feel-good factor from March’s CONCACAF Nations League victory negated by a chastening 5-1 friendly defeat to Colombia on Saturday.
That result was described as a “wake-up call” by the Stars and Stripes boss, as they hosted the five-time World Cup winners in Orlando.
His players appeared to have awoken from their supposed slumber with a fine start here, as Yunas Musah’s ferocious long-range strike cannoned off the bar in the opening exchanges.
Then, moments later, his AC Milan team-mate Christian Pulisic forced Alisson into a low save down to his right-hand side.
The game was being played at a frenetic pace, and ultimately, it was Brazil who broke the deadlock in the 17th minute.
Matt Turner hardly covered himself in glory when his weak clearance was intercepted and played into the path of Rodrygo, who dispatched a clinical finish beyond the Nottingham Forest shot-stopper.
The Seleção smelt blood and nearly doubled their lead when Raphinha sent a speculative effort narrowly wide after being teed up by Vinícius Júnior.
That lead lasted less than 10 minutes though, when Pulisic equalised with a brilliantly-engineered free-kick into the bottom corner, which exploited a chasm in the Brazilian wall to leave both sides level at HT.
Brazil had the early impetus after the re-start, and Rodrygo almost restored his side’s lead with a superb acrobatic effort which flew just over the crossbar, before the Real Madrid forward was thwarted again by Turner, this time from a tight angle.
His future Los Blancos teammate Endrick was introduced just past the hour mark, but Turner was alert to deny the 17-year-old from making an immediate impact.
The hosts were struggling to regain a foothold in this contest, but Pulisic almost provided it when his close-range strike was parried to safety by Alisson.
Turner was enjoying a fine evening between the sticks, and made an excellent one-handed stop to keep out another Rodrygo shot.
Despite the best attempts of Dorival Júnior’s side, Turner would not be beaten again and the USA would earn a morale-boosting draw following the Colombia debacle.
They begin their Copa América campaign against Bolivia on June 23rd, while Brazil begin their quest for South American supremacy two days later against Costa Rica.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Matt Turner (United States)
