USMNT Player Ratings vs. Brazil: Matt Turner’s 11 saves and Christian Pulisic’s free-kick goal steal the show

For the first time in program history, the United States men’s national team tied with Brazil. Gregg Berhalter challenged his team after a lopsided 5-1 loss to Colombia Over the weekend the players responded in a big way with a 1-1 draw against Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and company. Aside from Rodrigo’s opener for Brazil, it was Christian Pulisic’s first-half free-kick equalizer and Matt Turner’s 11-goal save that stole the show at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Now is the time for the USA national team to regroup and prepare for its opening Copa America match against Bolivia on June 21. But before we look ahead, let’s think about the team’s performance:

A goal keeper: Matt Turner

Arrangement aside, Matt Turner was excellent. He made 11 saves, the most by any American goalkeeper since Tim Howard, who made 15 saves. Belgium At the 2014 World Cup – and I felt like every stop was as amazing as the next. Perhaps Turner needed a game to shake off the rust from not playing regularly Nottingham Forest. More of that and the USMNT might have a real chance at the Copa America. He was awarded Player of the Match.

Rating: 8

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Right-back: Joe Scully

Joe Scully may need help on defense at times, but who wouldn’t when your job is defensively as well Vinicius Junior. Combined with Tim, Wea and Rena, Scully was able to keep Vinnie and the action in front of him by winning all three of his tackles. This is the Copa America starting right back and he will go into the tournament with confidence.

Rating: 7

Center back: Chris Richards

He had a bizarre moment where he received a yellow card but it was overturned during a check to see if it was red but Richards was mostly solid. There were many moments when Brazil had shots on goal, but that was because they did not have a shield Tyler Adams In front of the defense more than they have been thanks to the performances of Richards and Tim Ream who were where they needed to be most of the time.

Rating: 6

Center back: Tim Ream

Calm in his decision-making Without Ream’s passing ability, there are quite a few situations the USMNT wouldn’t get out of because they were so adamant about playing out from the back. If this had been a competitive match, Brazil might have gone to the centre-back more aggressively, but they did what they had to do.

Rating: 6

Left back: Anthony Robinson

After one of his shakiest outings in a USMNT jersey against Colombia, Anthony Robinson responded well against Brazil. He stepped forward when needed to make the attack involve creating the team’s highest number of combined chances alongside Weston McKennie with three. But even while doing so, Robinson did not neglect to maintain his defensive responsibilities Rafinha He was well contained during the game.

Rating: 7

Midfielder: Younis Musa

He hit the crossbar with a powerful shot in the first half, and Younis Musa was unlucky not to score. While still raw in many areas of his game, he may be the most unpredictable member of the USMNT midfield after Reyna. With his ability to dribble from tight angles and win the ball back, Musa kept Brazil on their toes and deserved the goal.

Rating: 6

Midfielder: Gio Reyna

Gio Reyna wasn’t that old, but that’s a good thing in some ways. Since he did not participate much during the World Cup The State of QatarHe has worked on improving his defensive work rate since his off-season at the World Cup in Qatar, and it showed. He made a tackle with four recoveries as he was a constant pest in the midfield. Obviously, against the top teams, Reina has to be on the pitch. If Tyler Adams is not 100% ready to participate in the Copa America, Reina will be one of the first names on the team list.

Rating: 6

Midfielder: Weston McKinney

McKennie did a little bit of everything when he appeared on offense and defense. And while it looked like he could have done more with the ball at his feet, he was still facing Brazil – a tough draw for any player. McKennie is at his best when he has the ball more, but he did his best with the opportunities he was given.

Rating: 6

Striker: Tim Weah

Between focusing on defense and getting involved in attack, Weah has done a good job of showing what he has learned from playing at fullback. He was still able to test Alisson with two shots on target. You’ll want to unleash Weah on offense once the tournament starts.

Rating: 5

Offensive line: Ricardo Pepe

In his first start of 2024, Pepe had the unwanted task of pressuring Brazil into making mistakes from the back. While he didn’t score a shot, that doesn’t mean he didn’t have an impact. Berhalter will have tough decisions to make about what to do against him Uruguay In the striker during the group stage. Balogun should remain the preferred option in games where the Americans are favored.

Rating: 5

straight ahead: Christian Pulisic

He earned a free kick, and buried it after a bit of trickery from the USMNT to trick Alisson into the net. Innovative finishing and a solid work rate from the team captain, Pulisic could have had a brace and an assist if this had been a weaker opponent. While there was room for improvement, this was an example from Pulisic in a rebounding game.

Rating: 7

Substitute: Folarin Balogun

Coming off the bench, Balogun fired in a shot but didn’t see many touches as Brazil pushed for the winner.

Rating: 5

Substitute: Tyler Adams

After suffering a season-ending back injury, it’s good to see Tyler Adams back on the field. Tidy in a small role, I hope he can build on that in the Copa America.

Rating: 5

substitute: Brenden Aaronson

He almost scored the winning goal in the match, but Alisson blocked him from close range. Just the kind of performance you want from the bench.

substitute: Johnny Cardoso

He came in to slow the game down and was also on the ball a lot. He didn’t really put a foot wrong in an important appearance off the bench.

Rating: 6

substitute: Chuck Moore

He made some mistakes to throw Brazil off balance and was also spelled Scully.

Rating: Not available

Director: Gregg Berhalter

Berhalter got the desired reaction from his players after the 5-1 defeat. They pressed on and seemed more impulsive. This had shades of the World Cup tie England The USMNT absorbed the pressure and secured a point against all odds. This is not a team that can’t face Brazil without some luck. Accepting that and doing everything they could to keep Brazil was a positive thing.

Rating: 7