DOSE OF REALITY
Brazil dominates U.S. in predictable mismatch
A U.S. national soccer team that didn’t even reach the last World Cup played a Brazilian powerhouse that’s won more Cups than anybody. The game went as expected.
Using a young, transitional squad — one bereft of star Christian Pulisic — the U.S. youth got served. It got shut out 2-0 before a crowd of 32,489 at MetLife Stadium, much of the crowd wearing yellow and supporting the five-time champs.
Brazil got goals from Roberto Firmino in the 11th minute and Neymar in the 42nd, the latter on a penalty that Fabinho drew on Will Trapp. The call was dodgy, but so was the performance from this rebooting young U.S. side.
“We’re earning stripes, man,” Trapp said. “This is a game where lessons are learned and they’re learned harshly, because a team like this can punish you, and they did.”
The U.S. will learn a bunch of harsh lessons between missing this summer’s World Cup and the schedule that follows. Since tying France in a June tune-up before Les Bleus’ run to the championship, Friday’s game started a string of six tough friendlies through November. The first five are against World Cup teams, and four-time champ Italy is the other.
“It’s good to play against the best players and best teams in the world. That’s what this group will learn from the most,” said Trapp, who called it a “baptism by fire.’’
“In the second half, our shape was better,’’ he added. “We were more aggressive pressing forward. It’s just courage, man. You understand, yes, mistakes are going to happen. Yes, it’s a quality opponent. We have to stick together as a group.”
This group should get better. It’s greener than the MetLife grass, with 15 players 23 and under. The midfield trio of Trapp (25), Weston McKennie (20) and Tyler Adams (19) gave away too much posses- sion, but they were fearless and played the ball quickly.
But just five U.S. starters play in Europe’s big five leagues, and only one is on a UEFA Champions League club. Every Brazil starter is in one, and they showed that quality gap in the 11th minute.
Left back Antonee Robinson took a bad angle and got beat by Douglas Costa, who fired in a bending cross that Firmino volleyed home. Then Fabinho took a great touch in the box to cut between Trapp and centerback John Brooks. He went down to draw a penalty that Neymar slotted past Zack Steffan.
“We were a little unlucky with the second goal on the PK, but that’s soccer,” McKennie said.
Said Adams: “The contact started outside the box, so initially I thought he was going to call it outside the box. The dive or whatever you want to call it came a little bit late. But it is what it is. Sometimes you get calls, sometimes you don’t.”
Neymar had his own usual dives, one first-half flop prompting fullback DeAndre Yedlin to ask the ref, “Did you watch the World Cup?”
Still, while the U.S. pressed further up in the second half, it was the first time in Dave Sarachan’s seven games in charge — awaiting a permanent coach — that the Americans were roundly outclassed. There were few bright spots, other than an industrious midfield and Brooklyn-born Tim Weah’s minutes off the bench.
The U.S. needs to find creativity other than Pulisic, and get ready for a quick turnaround against arch-rival Mexico on Sept. 11.