photo by Brad Mills/USA Today Sports

By FRANCO PANIZO

Only one tuneup remains before the U.S. Men’s National Team takes on Mexico next month.

It just so happens to be against one of the most talented nations in the world.

The U.S. will learn more about itself ahead of the Oct. 10 CONCACAF Cup meeting with Mexico, as the Americans welcome star-studded Brazil in a friendly on Tuesday night (8pm ET, ESPN2/UniMas). The match at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts comes just four days after the U.S. handed Peru a 2-1 defeat and should provide even more answers as to where Jurgen Klinsmann’s side stands a month before its biggest match of the year.

“Obviously, it’s always something special when you can have a game against such a prestigious nation, a five-time world champion,” Klinsmann told reporters at his pre-game press conference. “It’s something that we can easily communicate to the players: that it means something special when you get an opportunity like that.

“For us again, as we talked the last couple of days, it will help us to get a lot of information towards the Mexico clash, but also I think it’s a unique opportunity for them to play such a good team and to benchmark themselves with the best players in the world out there.

“This is a very, very nice opportunity and we hopefully see them take advantage of it.”

A nice opportunity maybe, but a difficult one certainly. The Brazilians – who recorded a 1-0 win against Costa Rica over the weekend – enter Tuesday’s tilt with a squad overflowing with talent.

Top attacker and captain Neymar is closer to 100 percent healthy from the knee injury he sustained last week and likely to start, the skillful David Luiz and Marcelo should comprise half of the back line, and Orlando City superstar Kaka is also available for selection.

The amount of recognizable quality players on Brazil’s roster can be quite intimidating, especially for younger players. Klinsmann, his coaching staff and veteran U.S. players, however, are stressing the point of not getting nervous or stuck in awe by the unique challenges Brazil presents.

After all, this is preparation for what’s to come in October, when there will be no room for such feelings.

“You go in these games and you have a little bit respect, but I think it’s important you put the respect away when the game starts and you see it like man-to-man,” said midfielder Jermaine Jones, who famously delivered a crunching slide tackle on Neymar in an international friendly in 2012. “Of course, they have the big names in there, but I like it always to go into games and say, ‘Okay, I know them before. Maybe they don’t know me, but after the game I want them to know me, too.’

“I think it’s the best to see it. Maybe Neymar don’t know (Gyasi) Zardes right now, but maybe he makes a good game and people say, ‘Oh, this kid is a real good kid.’ If you get this in your head and lose the respect in the game then I think this will be the smartest way.”

The U.S. has shown at different times in the past few years that it is capable of looking even the most skilled teams in the eyes, and giving them a real fight. The Americans have even come out on top in some of those matches, with two of the most recent noteworthy wins coming on European soil against the Netherlands and reigning World Cup champions Germany back in June.

Brazil and its technically-gifted players are a different beast, though. The U.S. has only beaten the South American powerhouse once in 17 tries and knows that a second victory will be hard to come if it comes out of the gates as slowly as it did vs. Peru.

Having unwavering confidence is Klinsmann’s key to avoiding that, and something he continues to try to integrate into his group. In fact, he had a discussion with his players about that very subject on Sunday.

“We had a longer talk about that when you play against teams like Brazil or Argentina or get the opportunity to play Holland or Italy or Germany, that the mental side is enormous,” said Klinsmann. “If you have too much respect for them – which, we all have respect for them – but if you have too much respect for them then you can really get crushed because they sense that right away.

“They go on the field and they smell each other, and if you give them the taste that, ‘It’s Brazil, it’s the yellow jersey, and we’re backing off here,’ then good luck. Then it could really end up in a lesson, and we don’t want to end it up in a lesson in terms of result.

“We want to give them a game, so these type of countries you have to be confident and go out there and give them a game and get in their face, be aggressive, be ready for going to the limit, physically.”

One player who should help in that regard is midfield ace Michael Bradley. After missing the Peru match last Friday to remain with his club, Bradley joined his American teammates on Sunday to prepare for the meeting with Brazil.

It is currently unclear where and how exactly he will be used, given the reintroduction of Jones to the midfield, but it is likely that the 28-year-old Bradley plays in a more advanced position given how Klinsmann has been using him in recent months.

Bradley’s Toronto FC teammate, Jozy Altidore, is another player who will need to deliver in order for the U.S. to have a chance at coming out on top. Altidore is coming off a confidence-boosting, two-goal performance against Peru and will be counted upon heavily in the absence of fellow forward Clint Dempsey.

The 25-year-old Altidore is better-equipped to meet those demands than he was a couple of months ago. He is in substantially better shape than he was in July at the CONCACAF Gold Cup when he was still working his way back from an injury and is looking much more sharper and dangerous.

“He’s simply, physically, on a completely different level than when came in for the Gold Cup. He was just not there,” said Klinsmann. “He worked himself back, he worked hard, he did extra shifts with his club and when he came in now, he’s fresh, he’s explosive, he’s hungry, and because of that then he’s in a better state of mind.

“You need to have that physical foundation to come into camp with the national team because the intensity level is just much higher and the tempo is higher. If you feel suddenly in the first couple of days that you’re not there then that will hit your confidence and it will hit everything. He realized after a couple of days in the Gold Cup, ‘Holy moly, no I’m not there yet the way I should be.’ We tested that out the first three games and then we came to the conclusion that the timing is not there.

“He did his homework, and he’s different now. He’s in a good mood, he believes in himself, and he’s working hard.”

Altidore and Bradley might be key figures for the U.S. on Tuesday night, but they are hardly the only ones who have to play well in order to pull off the upset. The Americans from top to bottom need to be solid, including at the back where goalkeeper Brad Guzan will try to help a makeshift defense put together a second consecutive strong outing.

Regardless of the end result, the U.S. players are using this match as another way to improve, find answers and state their cases. A meaningful meeting with Mexico is drawing closer and closer, and an impressive shift vs. a top team like Brazil could go a long way towards determining who makes the cut in October and who doesn’t.

“Probably there comes more intensity into this game from our end in terms of competition within our squad,” said Klinsmann. “Everybody wants to be at the Rose Bowl, everybody wants to be part of that one-off, so that raises the bar.”