photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
LANDOVER, Md. — The U.S. men's national team looked to its match against Brazil as a way to gauge just how far it has come in its first year under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and the U.S. men found out there is still work to be done.
Four days after routing Scotland to open their busy summer, the United States suffered a 4-1 defeat to Brazil in front of a crowd of 67,619 fans at FedEx Field on Wednesday night. The Americans created chances, but a failure to to finish combined with some shaky defending ended the U.S. team's winning streak at five games.
"It's a very good team, and that's what we expected, with very good individual players," said Klinsmann. "Neymar and his technical skils that he has, and he has this freshness in his game to try things out and make things that you don't expect. They have a very powerful forward with Hulk that is a handful, there's no doubt about it. They have a a very good group that are coming through the ranks that Mano Menezes is trying to build."
Neymar scored early on a controversial penalty kick and added two assists for the Brazilians, while Alexandre Pato came off the bench to cap the scoring. Herculez Gomez, who started for the U.S. team for the first time since 2010, scored the lone goal for the hosts with a headed finish just before halftime.
The Americans had chances in the match to pull closer but were unable to convert. Oguchi Onyewu thundered a header off the cross bar in the second half, while Michael Bradley and substitute Terrence Boyd also failed to put away chances against Brazilian goalkeeper Rafael.
Both teams began the match by sharing possession and feeling each other out. But the United States fell behind in the 12th minute when Neymar beat Tim Howard with a penalty kick that was awarded to the Selecao following a questionable handball on Oguchi Onyewu.
Neymar went from scorer to provider 14 minutes later, delivering a corner kick that Thiago Silva headed home.
"(Onyewu) says he hit him in the stomach and plus he was outside the box," said Klinsmann. "Then you get another set piece, you're 2-0 down, so you run after Brazil, which is very difficult because then you open up spaces and they can counter break you."
The Americans got a lifeline just before halftime, as Michael Bradley hit Fabian Johnson with a pass down the left flank. Johnson sent in a cross that took a slight deflection, and Gomez was there to head it into the back of the net from close range.
"I thought the team reacted very well," said Klinsmann. "They fought themselves back in the game, they scored that goal. We wanted to avoid, obviously, a third goal coming out for the second half."
That did not happen. Seven minutes after the intermission, Neymar got down the left side and sent in a low cross that Marcelo smashed past a helpless Howard.
The United States attempted to rally after that, but things got chippy in the match. Jermaine Jones was given a yellow card in the 57th minute for taking down Neymar with a sweeping kick, and Brazilian fullback Marcelo was cautioned three minutes later.
"I think we mixed it up in the second half," said Howard. "We made them uncomfortable. I thought it was a great tackle on Neymar from Jermaine. They were pissing and moaning and rolling around, and got a little bit of help from the referee. We stood up for ourselves."
The final goal of the game came three minutes before the death, when Pato chested down a ball from Marcelo and rifled a shot to the far post despite appeals for offside from the Americans.
"The fourth goal, my information is the guy was two yards offside," said Klinsmann. "So we're talking about a goal two yards offside, we're talking about a penalty kick that's not be, so that kind of pisses me off to be honest. But it is what it is. Congratulations to Brazil for the win."
The scoreline does not indicate it, but in terms of performance the United States did better than they have in the past against the five-time World Champions. Rather than defend and counter, the Americans tried to take the game to Brazil when they could. And while it did work at times, the lack of finishing and shoddy defending ultimately cost them.
"We did have good spells where we moved the ball around," said Clint Dempsey, who entered the game in the 56th minute. "But it hurts you to concede a goal so early in a game like this. It puts more pressure on you and we just never really seem to get those type of calls."
The U.S. team next takes on Canada at BMO Field in Toronto on June 3 before starting World Cup qualifying against Antigua and Barbuda on June 8 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Fla.
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What do you think of Brazil's 4-1 win over the United States? Who impressed/disappointed you? Encouraged by how the U.S. offense played?
Share your thoughts below.
He was bad tonight. I really worry about who our CB’s are going to be at the WC. Would be extremely tough with Gooch and Boca. Wish we could get some younger guys settled in there.
I agree but add Donovan to Gooch tonight.
Nobody mentioned that the USMNT match versus Brazil was against their Olympic team….. not nearly as strong as their full side.
If we maybe had Dempsey starting and D. Williams in Edu’s spot. Lichaj for Dolo and maybe even Ream for Gooch. We could’ve had a much better result
Why was Donovan trying to take on Marcelo 1 v. 1 when he doesn’t even do that in Galaxy games? Usually his game is just trying to clear enough space between himself and a defender to send in a cross. But tonight it looked like he wanted to past Marcelo to the goal. Wasn’t happening.
Gooch and Landon were poor. They contributed to all 4 Brazil goals. Gooch is in such poor condition he could hardly step up with the trap on two occasions. Why didn’t Klinsmann know this? Landon failed to track back on Marcelo too often as Dolo is tied up on Neymar.
Gomez, Bradley, and Johnson played well. Edu cannot play forward/attacking mid. USA could have scored more, but Klinsmann’s Gooch selection and playing Edu higher are disturbing developments. If they’re not fit, they must sit, no matter their rank.
Marcelo, man of the match.
Dolo looked good but there is a serious lack of depth at CB. Boca and Gooch were okay, got beat a few times, could be better but are playing well enough for right now. After them its a huge drop off Ream, Cameron, John, etc would have been embarassed today by brazil this group will be needed in 2014 and need to get in gear
We had some good chances – created sustained pressure in the last 30 minutes of the game.
It’s that last pass – what Brazilians call “the little pass………to the net.” That’s what we were missing.
Bradley’s header – nice. But it goes in the corner not to the goalies outstretched hand.
Gooch’s “thundering” header off the crossbar, nice. But it goes in the upper 90 L or R, not off the middle of the crossbar. Hercules, nice run, great pass by Dempsey, thundering point blank shot. Lucky reflex save by the Brazilian keeper, and on the rebound.
Still there was a lack of composure on the ball, and too many little mistakes in possession, giving up possession cheaply, etc. – characteristic of the old USA.
Beautiful flashes of fast break, one touch, forward attacking football from the new USA.
Our old ways are dying, a new spirit, a new style is emerging. As another post said – it could easily have been 3-3, or 4-3 USA, or 6-1 Brazil. Lady luck had her role.
The penalty was questionable at best. The last goal was a 50/50 that might have been flagged as off sides (if it was a USA goal v. CONCACAF opposition, it was CLEARLY off sides!). A learning experience for the team – and it showed that there are some youngsters on the team ready to step up and play mano a mano with the best in the world – right now.
Canada on Sunday.
That criminal tackle on Neymar should’ve been a red.
Uhhh what?
1) Gomez had great movement off the ball that opened space for others. He did finish, he scored. He did have a great match for him. No he isn’t the next coming of Brian McBride
2) FABIAN Johnson is the name
3) NEYMAR is the Brazil player’s name
4) Neymar has much more to his game than “fancy tricks.”
Don’t mind people speaking their mind and giving input. But when you speak in absolute statements like “gomez sucked,” you usually are incorrect by missing the subtleties; and worse contribute nothing of worth to the discussion. Enjoy ranting much?
I love how people are so ready to construct Gooch having a bad game as an indictment of his overall talents-I guess the past 5 games he’s played in a USMNT jersey don’t matter? Everybody was crooning over how great he was in October. Absolutely he had a bad game. No it is not an indictment of his ability to play in JK’s system-Sporting Lisbon play a similar system and he seems to do pretty well there. People seem to be more rash with him than anybody else.
Dempsey was also very effective and Torres played well.
Thought for sure Dempsey would replace Edu not Torres
It would not be a game with out a yellow card for jones
Agree.
If that bull pk wasnt called and he cleared the ball properly that one time you would say differently. Not a good game but he is still one of the top defenders.
Its a shared award with Jones, another POS thug.
My biggest issue with tonight is our backline, minus Fabian, looked old. Against top tier teams we need more speed. Bocca is not going anywere but we need one of the CBs to step up. Not sure if it will be Cameron, Ream, Morales, Williams, or somebody else but we need more speed in there.
The right side is of concern. Dolo was fine tonight and not the reason they lost but he also was never a threat on the field. I know Chandler is a dream right now, but one of the right backs such as Lichaj need to step up. That right side could become a bigger problem and we need to begin the post dolo era.
I want to see more Boyd wow that kid is an impossing threat out there. I think him and jozy up top could be a real threat
I’m not sure if you are dumb or just a troll.
Look its Brazil. They played incedible today. They didn’t miss a single chance and pressed the US every second plus their rookie keeper was outstanding! I really wish Boyd got that goal instead of the lucky foot save! Gooch, edu, LD, Jones, Howard and many other could have been better but all in all we played well. They said this was a way to measure how far the team has come and id say they are much better than years past.
This team will destroy Canada and roll thru the first round of qualifing, no doubt not because of the low level of competion in concacaf but because this is a very strong US squad.
You must live in some fantasy world because NONE of our forwards can finish.What indication do you have that would fair to expect us to filed forwards capable of finishing against the likes of Brazil? As far as I know we have never had a good goal scorer.
USA 1- Gooch 3- Brazil 1
After watching the game, I think MB and Fabian Johnson look like our best two players. Its also awesome to see them playing so well together. The future is bright for those guys.
+1 on everything
I think that first yellow was actually given to Torres, not Jones.
Donovan is known for fading in and out of games. Against Scotland, he was great, against Brazil…intimidated
Congrats to Marcelo for winning the Rafa Marquez award. Lots of talent, but a piece crap
Yeah, what was up with that change? Other thoughts on the game, some obvious some not as popular:
-Contrary to what Twellman reminded us every 5 minutes, GOMEZ WAS NOT GREAT. In fact, he sucked. He is a forward. For the USMNT. I don’t care about his workrate getting back, I care about his first touch, shooting accuracy, and scoring ability. On all three counts he has failed every time I’ve seen him. I don’t care how many meaningless goals he’s scored in Mexico either. At this stage we should be able to have forwards who finish, and he couldn’t and can’t. Look at the way Brazil (sans the one off the post) finished their opportunities to see the stark difference.
-Damian Johnson is a beast. He was by far our best player on the pitch tonight. By far.
-Mandon devolved into Landycakes. Sigh.
-Gooch and his cement boots need to stay off the field for the USMNT for the forseeable future. Absolutely brutal, and directly cost us two goals (one illegitimate).
-Reymar has BITCHBLOOD. Ooooo fancy tricks with his feet! — does that ever not end in him flopping around the ground in faux pain? BITCH.
-Marcelo is just unhinged.
-It’s too bad people, especially the casuals, are going to look at the scoreline and assume “That 5-1 was false hope. We still suck at soccer.” But in reality you could argue we outplayed Brazil in the second half, and deserved a goal or two. Brazil came up huge to stop us.
Yeah when was the last time we were this close to matching Brazill in possession and shots on goal? I am going to guess never
Thanks!
I’d say that Gooch is not at the skill level we want for the NATs. Today, there was a clear dropoff between him and the rest of the starting 11. But thats not to say he can’t help us win games in certain situations when he’s at his best, but I’d be very disappointed if he remained a starter for the NATS going into WC 2014. Gooch regularly makes boneheaded plays despite being such a veteran player- I don’t think this is a matter of him being match fit, but it is just characteristic of his play that has always been there. His lack of skill on the ball also hurts us- even if he is completing most of his passes, it often takens him a little bit longer too pass and his passes are a little bit off which hurts the flow of the team.
Luckily Klinnsman has George John next on the list. John SHOULDVE been ranked where Ream was a year ago and he WOULDVE been ranked where Cameron WAS a week ago (had he attented the January camp)Things happen for a reason though, I just hope we can qualify with the roster of CB’s we have now
So true. Leave the defending to edu jones ect MB is the #7
Correction — “Poor referee’ing”
and their goalie played REALLY well.
Just no more Gooch. Yes, other players had a couple shaky moments here and there; yes, Donovan was more or less owned by Marcelo, which is why he plays for Real Madrid, but Gooch was a joke. All the soccer writers are going to defend Gooch, – oh he is important, oh he has played well for us in the past, oh he is big and strong and wonderful and has dreamy eyes- but that was shocking, simply awful. He was the one player who didn’t look like he even belonged on the field.
He didn’t get one when he grabbed the ref luckily), I’m pretty sure the yellow was given to a Brazilian player.
I actually disagree; I thought he was increasingly influential as the game went on playing from deep. Certainly he does and should push forward at times. But I like the idea of him linking from the back, playing longer balls through or over the top–his long passing was excellent tonight–and setting up some skilled players in front of him, i.e. Torres replacing Edu, and Dempsey taking Torres’s current spot.
key’s to the game:
-Very poor defending by US (Gooch, Edu)
-Poor finishing by the US
-Poor referee
And I will give credit where some is due; the Brazilians played hustling, swarming, energetic defense. Never thought that I would see the US get out-played on the defensive side by Brazil. They out-hustled us a good part of the game.
Very frustrating.
The last 15 minutes of the game, the U.S showed just what klinsmann has been preaching. The U.S can hang,t hey just aren’t cant do it consistently which hurt them. They looked sluggish in the back way too often, and didn’t put their chances away when they had them, plain and simple.
bocanegra was awful too, so let’s not bash gooch too much…edu looked scared tonight and i thought we should have taken him out after the half and moved torres into his spot…parkhurst looked pretty comfortable/confident out there to me…cherundolo didn’t have a goood game either…its time to bleed some young talent in the back!
I concur, on every point. Edu isn’t as awful as he’s made out to be on SBI, but he is basically a more athletic version of Beckerman, nothing more, nothing less, a solid defensive mid, nowhere else. I think Gooch and Boca are the safe choices for their CONCACAF experience, but we need center halves who can play a tidy pass that can allow the mids a chance to link up with the forwards. Knowing that our CBs and mids won’t cheaply give away possession allows Fabian and Dolo to get forward and create like they have so well vs Scotland and Brasil. I’m just hoping to see Cameron or Ream get to the level defensively that we can trust them because they are the type of players that we need.
It’s nonsense to talk about what might have happened with a bit of different luck in front of goal. Brazil convert their chances because they have players with vastly superior skills. It’s as simple as that.
Did Jermaine Jones get two yellow cards? Am I the only one who noticed this??? The first when he grabbed the ref, and the second on the nasty second half challenge.
“gomez were brilliant”
LMAO. The USMNT: Where squandering several good chances, and scuffing even more half chances, but provide a great workrate (!) makes you brilliant, like scoreless no-goods Brian Chang and Altidore (at his worst) before him.
I know Twellman told you he was so brilliant, but I for one have a different standard of FORWARDS for the US NATIONAL TEAM. I think it’s fair we fans should now expect to be able to field forwards capable of putting chances away. With basically one exception, Brazil pounded in their best chances. We were unlucky in that regard to some extent, but that was the difference in the scoreline. And when it comes to forwards, THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN CLASS. Gomez was rubbish to me.
The U.S. will get where they need to be in two years from now. They will learn and get better.Kilnsi is doing fine. U.S. needs a healthy duece.The U.S. will be fine.
Marcelo trashed Donovan. I hope Donovan can sleep tonight.
Hmmmm that makes him involved one way or another in 3 of the 4
Ive always wondered if the pros out weight the cons with him. He tends to foul in dangerous positions and tonight, the speed of Brazil was too much for him. I think he’s in the mix but not sure he’s an automatic anymore. That goes for Altadore too
if gooch completed 3/4 of his passes is because they where all back or lateral, he has no game going up to the midfield. he just clears the ball if not passing bacl.
Exactly!!!! They had Bradley as the destroyer and edu as an attacking midfielder…we all now that edu does not hold the ball well, he is more about breaking up plays. The offense picked up when Bradley started pushing up. Not sure what Klinsi was thinking…if he wanted to experiment, thats fine, but by half time he should noticed it and made the reversal. Of course when Deuce came in, you could teel the difference….but Fabian and Herc were a beast tonight
I know stats dont tell the whole story, but I think they tell more about the reality of the game then the scoreline. I think we are making strides and looked dangerous in a way we never really have before. We also seem to have a lot of options going forward… Looking forward to the next 3 games.
Yeah, might have been more like 6-3.