NEW DELHI: Brazil and the United States played out a 1-1 draw in a friendly match held in Orlando on Wednesday, which served as the final preparation for both teams before the upcoming Copa America.
This result is only the second time in their last 20 encounters that the US managed to avoid a loss against the five-time World Cup champions, a crucial performance following their heavy 5-1 defeat to Colombia in the previous week.
“There was a lot of talk amongst the players after the 5-1 loss to Colombia. We need to know, friendly or not, it doesn’t matter, you’re the US, you’re going to play in Copa America, you’re going to play against South American teams that don’t like you very much and want to prove a point. We have to have a certain level of intensity every time we step out onto the pitch that we lacked in the Colombia game but had tonight,” US keeper Matt Turner told TNT Sports.
The Copa America is set to take place from June 20 to July 14 in the United States. Brazil, nine-time winners of the tournament, will begin their Group D campaign against Costa Rica on June 24, followed by matches against Paraguay and Colombia. The US will start their Group C journey against Bolivia on June 23, before facing Panama and Uruguay.
This result is only the second time in their last 20 encounters that the US managed to avoid a loss against the five-time World Cup champions, a crucial performance following their heavy 5-1 defeat to Colombia in the previous week.
“There was a lot of talk amongst the players after the 5-1 loss to Colombia. We need to know, friendly or not, it doesn’t matter, you’re the US, you’re going to play in Copa America, you’re going to play against South American teams that don’t like you very much and want to prove a point. We have to have a certain level of intensity every time we step out onto the pitch that we lacked in the Colombia game but had tonight,” US keeper Matt Turner told TNT Sports.
The Copa America is set to take place from June 20 to July 14 in the United States. Brazil, nine-time winners of the tournament, will begin their Group D campaign against Costa Rica on June 24, followed by matches against Paraguay and Colombia. The US will start their Group C journey against Bolivia on June 23, before facing Panama and Uruguay.
Brazil took the lead in the 17th minute, taking advantage of a misplaced clearance by Turner. Raphinha recovered the ball and assisted Real Madrid forward Rodrygo, who scored with a composed finish.
The US equalized in the 26th minute through Christian Pulisic, who struck a low free kick past Alisson at the near post after being fouled just outside the penalty area.
“It was a tough game, you always want to win, but because it’s a warm-up, you have to try not to lose. They gave us a hard time, but we also created a lot, we just lacked a bit of flair. We have to carry on like this, train hard to do well at the Copa America,” Rodrygo told TV Globo after the match.
(Inputs from Reuters)
