U.S. humbled by Brazil 4-1

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The U.S. has upset the likes of Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Germany in recent years, so the prospect of playing Brazil in Foxborough—where the U.S. had once stunned England and the Revolution knocked off Sporting CP—seemed promising.

That was, until reality sunk in.

Brazil devastated the U.S. national team here on Tuesday night at Gillette Stadium, 4-1, in front of 29,308.

It was Brazil’s 17^th overall victory against the U.S., whose only victory against the Selecao came in a Gold Cup semifinal on Feb. 10, 1998 in Pasadena.

Brazil wasn’t in the mood to relive the past on Tuesday. After allowing the U.S. to come forward in the opening minutes, they soon took over, opening the scoring through Hulk in the ninth minute. Neymar scored twice in the second half after coming on at halftime, with Rafinha scoring in between. Danny Williams converted from long range in second half stoppage time, giving the U.S. a consolation score.

Brazil managed to stymie an unbalanced U.S. team composed of a topsy-turvy mix of prospects and veterans with long spells of possession and quick, short passes.

“It’s Brazil, of course, they control the game,” said Revolution midfielder Jermaine Jones, who was playing in front of a home crowd that may have included more Brazil fans than U.S.

“Of course, everybody’s a little bit upset,” he added. “It’s a friendly, but we didn’t want to lose it.”

Jones was pinned deep in a 4-5-1 set-up, with Brazil’s attacking players pressuring him hard until he exited the game in the 72^nd minute. Michael Bradley, DeAndre Yedlin, Jozy Altidore, and the whole of the U.S. attack was frustrated by Brazil’s speed, precision, and tight marking in and around the penalty area, too.

So when Brazil opened the scoring, the prospects of a comeback were bleak.

Hulk’s opening goal came as Willian rushed down the right side of the box, beating Alejandro Bedoya and Tim Ream before clanging the crossbar on a rogue looping pass. The rebound fell to Hulk, who cut to his right foot before slamming the ball past goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

Neymar and Roberto Firmino came on at halftime for Willian and Hulk, respectively, with Neymar making an immediate impact.

He got clipped by Geoff Cameron in the box, prompting referee Joel Aguilar of El Salvador to award a penalty kick in the 49^th minute.

“No chance was that a penalty kick,” said Cameron. “If you watch the replay—and I had a chance to watch the replay—[you see]I did touch the ball. He jumped over my leg.”

Nevertheless, Neymar stepped up and buried the ensuing spot kick, beating Guzan to the left side of the net.

Brazil kept going after that, eventually scoring twice in a three-minute span.

First, Brazil took over a botched U.S. attack in the 64^th minute through Lucas, who marched down the field and found Rafinha in space to poke the ball past Guzan to make it 3-0.

Next, in the 67^th minute, Lucas played the ball to the right side of the penalty area for Neymar, who faked past four U.S. defenders before passing the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-0.

Williams, who came on in the 34^th minute for Alejandro Bedoya, took an ambitious, 28-yard screamer in second half stoppage time and was rewarded for his efforts. His shot flew past Andre Luiz and into the goal off goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe’s fingertips.

“I saw that there was a gap—Tim Ream passed it to me—I saw it was open and thought why not take the risk and shoot,” said Williams. “I’m happy for the goal, but we lost 4-1.”

The U.S., who have been in poor form in recent weeks, will stumble into next month’s CONCACAF playoff with Mexico for a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. The one-round elimination game will be played in Pasadena on Oct. 10.

The best the U.S. can do for now is use Tuesday’s devastating result as motivation.

“This is a game in which you’re obviously playing against some world class players, and we know our ultimate goal is to take care of business against Mexico next month,” Cameron said. “This is motivation. If anything we need to work a little harder and leave it all on the field.”

If you want to reach Julian, email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo