Up and down the field the team played well. Pulisic did a lot more than just score his free kick, he set a tone that we were here to compete, not get played off the pitch. Weah was huge tracking back to help Scally on Vini Jr. with a number of timely interventions. Speaking of Scally, he was excellent in defense again and had far fewer mistakes going forward. Musah’s agility was hugely helpful in midfield, though he needs to be careful about always trying to dribble out of pressure – especially when he’s playing a defensive mid role. Ream was fantastic helping to play out of pressure at the back, Richards defended well all night, and Matt Turner was a beast – he’s in the discussion for Man of the Match no doubt. 

On the other hand, we thought Pepi continued to struggle. Unfortunately, we are viewing him more and more as a player who just doesn’t (at least right now) project well at the next level of elite club or international soccer. He’s a little like Johny Manziel – his combination of skill and athleticism made him elite in college, but in the pros he was neither quick enough to escape NFL DEs, nor accurate enough to thread the needle past NFL DBs. We fear Pepi is like that, against Panama he’s great, against Brazil not so much. Balogun looked more dangerous after he came on. 

McKennie and Reyna were quiet in attack but defended well. We’re stoked to see Adams get some time back on the field, and hope he can work his way back to full match fitness by the time we play Uruguay on July 1. 

All told – lots of reasons to be more optimistic as we head into the Copa. We’ll break down the USA’s group and knockout prospects in our upcoming Copa America preview. 

The USA turned in a much stronger performance against Brazil than what we managed against Colombia a few days ago. Our player ratings obviously reflect that – let’s dig in. 

• Pepi (6) – Pepi contributed more in this match than we noticed live, but it was mostly on the defensive side. Still that’s important against a team like Brazil. We’d give him 8/10 for defensive presence, 6/10 for holdup play, and 4/10 for creating in the attack. Need to see more in attack against top teams.
• Pulisic (8) – In contention for Man of the Match. Set the tone the way you’d want a captain to that when he cut down Raphinha early on. It made a statement that the USA was not here to get embarrassed. He gave us all a scare when he went down after a header late in the 1H but was clearly okay in the 2H. Came back to make several key defensive plays. Outstanding play to beat 3 Brazilians when he got fouled at top of box, and fantastic goal from the resulting free kick. A little unlucky with Alisson making a sick save on his chance in the 68th minute, but he could have tucked away more in the corner. Brilliant play to set up Aaronson’s chance late. We note – with some satisfaction – that the play that led to our free kick goal came when Pulisic drifted into the area of the pitch where we believed he could create a real advantage.
• Weah (7) – Solid game in attack, a few shots with venom especially early. Distinguished himself with effort on the defensive end. We counted 8 times where Weah made an important hustle play on defense, with several of them being critical as Vini Jr. prepared to shoot, or to prevent transition breakaways like Colombia had all game
• Balogun (6.5) – Had a little under 30 minutes and offered more in attack than Pepi. Did extremely well to hold up ball under intense Brazil pressure deep in our half in combination with Ream
• Aaronson (6) – can’t fault him for not putting away his late chance as Alisson was out quickly and made a great save. A couple loose passes prevent a higher score, but was excellent in defense and brought the energy you expect from him which was critical as the rest of the team was tiring late.

• McKennie (6.5) – Started slow but got stronger as the game wore on. Like Pepi on Colombia’s 5th goal, was lackadaisical on Turner’s ball that got picked off for Brazil’s goal. Had multiple intense plays on D for crucial interventions in 2H. Showed his ability to create with two key passes in buildup for Pulisic’s chance in the 68th and several plays where he did well to retain possession under pressure.
• Reyna (6) – Not his best game going forward, but made several key interventions on defense. Provided help on Vini Jr. and others many times on the right side of defense.
• Musah (7.5) – was tireless in defense and in buildup out of the back. Got caught on the ball in dangerous situation once, but broke Brazilian pressure at least 9 times. Constantly on the move to show for back line to advance the ball, and provided good cover for the defense. The holding role isn’t his best, but showed again that he’s our best alternative any time that Adams can’t go. Was unlucky not to score on his vicious hit from almost 30 in the 5th minute. On the broadcast Kyle Martino said he switched off on Brazil’s goal but we disagree, he had 3 players to try to mark.
• Cardoso (6.5) – Dramatic improvement from the Colombia game. Much better retaining possession and advancing through midfield. Solid defensively
• Adams (6) – only had 15 minutes, we were happy just to see him back on the pitch. Surprised to see him lose two duels at midfield but we’ll forgive the rust. Did cut out a few key attacks, particularly one from Martinelli late. 

• Robinson (6.5) – It was a bounce back game for the team, and a bounce back game for Jedi. Raphinha world class, and he was isolated against Robinson several times. Robinson rose to the challenge and continued to do well in defense when Savio came on with fresh legs which is a testament to his fitness. Still struggled with most of his crossing opportunities but we know he’s capable of better.
• Ream (7) – In good position all night. Got exposed for lack of pace against Endrick but that’s no surprise. Was excellent in possession building up out of the back. Played out of intense pressure many times.
• Richards (6.5) – Better in the second half than the first. Did well in the air as you’d expect against Brazil. Looked a little shaky on some tackles at top of box in 1H. In 2H was brilliant, two great interceptions on through balls including the one where we all thought he might get sent off. Played out of pressure well and found teammates when he won aerial duels in the 2H
• Scally (7) – As in the Colombia game, was very good in defense. Was 1×1 with Vini Jr. or Rodrygo 6 times and never got beat. Needs to thank teammates on that side especially Weah and Reyna for the help though as they both provided great help D. Less mistakes going forward and didn’t go forward unnecessarily like he did against Colombia
• Moore (NR) – Came on late for Scally who surely deserved a rest. Martinelli looked very dangerous against him.

• Turner (8) – In competition for Man of the Match. Distribution was hit and miss again, found Pepi on some long goal kicks but hit a few balls out of play too. Had the lowest passing percentage of any US starter at 72%. We’ve seen some say that he’s at fault for the Brazil goal due to the under-hit ball to McKennie but that is extremely harsh. Contributed but not “at fault.” Arguably, he more than made up for it, as Brazil had 2.8xG and he held them to 1. Made 11 total saves and on several of them did well not to give any rebound off a hard shot. Made 5 saves that we’d call “big saves” that could easily have been goals. We also thought he did a very good job of slowing the game down when needed – letting the team regain it’s shape and composure after a stretch of pressure by Brazil. Excellent game for Turner.

Close call between CP10 and @HeadTurner. We’re giving the nod to Pulisic because of the quality of his goal (and the attacking play that won the free kick), his defensive work rate (Vini Jr. can take some lessons…) and the leadership he showed as captain. If Turner’s distribution had been better we’d have given him the Man of the Match award.

We had an over on 2.5 goals with a payout of -200. We lost the bet but still think it was a good bet. Combined, the keepers made at least 7 big saves on plays that could easily have been goals. If one of those goes in, we win our bet. We’re 1-1 now and down $1.82 cents. 

The USMNT will begin their Copa America in earnest on Sunday, June 23 in Arlington, TX against Bolivia. On paper, Bolivia is the weakest of the 4 teams in our group. We must win that game. Panama will be tricky, and Uruguay is excellent. They beat Brazil in World Cup Qualifying and just waxed Mexico 4-0. Don’t want to head into that one needing a win to advance.

This team has character. As Matt Turner put it, stared in the face of adversity and were able to bounce back.

Musah is a must start against these quicker South American teams. We need his pace. If Adams is back, we’d remove Reyna and put Musah in the starting 11. We also have limited pace in midfield – it’s really just Musah and Adams. Those two are going to have to play a lot against Uruguay and in the knockout phases (assuming we get there) so we need to make sure they are fresh. Hopefully we can rotate some guys against Bolivia in particular.

 Berhalter can learn from mistakes. We need to see that applied in Copa America. In our view we need to at least make the Semifinals in order for this tournament to be a success. Failure to escape the group means Berhalter HAS to go. Losing in the quarters means he should go. We’ll break all this down in our detailed Copa America preview that we’ll publish in the coming days