The result of the U.S. MNT friendly against Brazil at Gillette Stadium was exactly not what the team needed in the final prep before meeting Mexico on Oct. 10 in a showdown for the CONCACAF berth in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.
The 4-1 loss was embarrassing and the loss was the third in the last four games for U.S. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s team. The disappointment of three unanswered goals to break the game open in the second half wiped away the encouraging signs from a 2-1 win over Peru four days earlier.
The U.S. did get on the scoreboard on a screamer from outside the box off the foot of reserve Danny Williams in stoppage time.
On a night when Mexico was playing Argentina to a 2-2 draw, the Klinsmann once again experimented with his lineup, playing a number of players out of their normal positions against Brazil. Actually, Mexico held a 2-0 lead over the #1 ranked team in the world until the 85th minute of that game.
Brazil was just too fast, too quick, too skilled, took organized and too talented for the U.S. Team that wilted in the second half after trailing 1-0 at intermission.
The U.S. Will play Mexico in California on Oct. 10 in the Rose Bowl.
Meanwhile, the U.S. MNT’s opponents are now set for Group C in CONCACAF’s Semifinal Round of Qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. will face St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala in a six-game round-robin format, facing each opponent twice, once at home and once away.
With aggregate-score victories in the Third Round of qualifying, St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Guatemala both clinched a berth into Group C. Trinidad & Tobago was already drawn into Group C with the United States during the Preliminary Draw for 2018 World Cup Qualifying on July 25 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The USA’s first ever meeting against St. Vincent & The Grenadines will kick off its 2018 World Cup Qualifying campaign. The opening match will take place on Nov. 13 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri;a limited number of tickets are still available. The U.S. will then travel to Trinidad to face the Soca Warriors on Nov. 17 in their second match of the Semifinal Round.
The next matches in the Semifinal Round will be played in 2016. The U.S. will face Guatemala away on March 25 before returning home for the return leg on March 29. Five months later, the U.S. will finish the Semifinal Round with matches against St. Vincent & The Grenadines away on Sept. 2 and then host Trinidad & Tobago at a yet to be determined location on Sept. 6.
Group A and Group B of CONCACAF’s Semifinal Round of Qualifying were also set this evening. Group A is composed of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Canada, while Group B features Costa Rica, Panama, Haiti and Jamaica.
The group winner and group runner-up from each group will advance to Final Round of World Cup Qualifying, otherwise known as the Hexagonal. The six teams face each other in a home and away round robin format, with the top three teams advancing to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The fourth-place team moves on to play a home-and-away intercontinental playoff against a team from the Asian Football Confederation.
The USA has finished first in the Hexagonal during the past three FIFA World Cup cycles.
The U.S. holds an all-time record of 16-2-3 against Trinidad & Tobago and swept the pair of matchups when the teams last met in World Cup Qualifying in 2009. The MNT cruised past Guatemala 4-0 in July when the teams faced off in a Gold Cup tune-up, and is unbeaten against the Central American team in twelve World Cup Qualifying matchups.
2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Semifinal Round
Date Opponent
Location
Nov. 13 St. Vincent & The Grenadines Busch Stadium,
St. Louis, Mo.
Nov. 17 Trinidad & Tobago Away (TBD)
March 25 Guatemala Away
(TBD)
March 29 Guatemala Home
(TBD)
Sept. 2 St. Vincent & The Grenadines Away (TBD)
Sept. 6 Trinidad & Tobago Home (TBD)
Milestone Watch:
Prior to the match, captain Michael Bradley was honored on the field in
celebration of having earned 100 caps with the MNT. The captain earned No.
100 in the opening match of the Gold Cup, a game the MNT won 2-1 against
Honduras.
Additional Notes:
The U.S. now holds a 1-17-0 record all-time against Brazil.
The U.S. has proven that it wants to compete against the world’s top teams,
with tonight’s matchup against Brazil being the MNT’s sixth against an
opponent ranked in the top 20 of FIFA’s world rankings this year. The
meeting was also the third in 2015 against a team ranked in the top six in
the World.
St. Vincent & The Grenadines has advanced to the Semifinal Round of CONCACAF
Qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup by a 3-2 aggregate score against
Aruba and will face the United States in Group C. The USA opens its 2018
World Cup Qualifying campaign against St. Vincent on Nov. 13 at Busch
Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
Jordan Morris returned for his first match since he was a part of the MNT’s
win against Germany in June.
– U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report –
Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Brazil
Date: September 8, 2015
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Gillette Stadium; Foxborough, Mass.
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Attendance: 29,308
Weather: 80 degrees; Clear
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 1 1
BRA 1 3 4
BRA – Hulk 9th minute
BRA – Neymar (penalty kick) 51
BRA – Rafinha (Lucas) 64
BRA – Neymar (Lucas) 67
USA – Danny Williams (Tim Ream) 90+1
Lineups:
USA: 1-Brad Guzan; 20-Geoff Cameron (16-Jonathan Spector, 73), 15-Michael
Orozco, 19-Ventura Alvarado, 23-Tim Ream; 13-Jermaine Jones (10-Mix
Diskerud, 72), 11-Alejandro Bedoya (14-Danny Williams, 36); 2-DeAndre
Yedlin, 4-Michael Bradley (capt.) (9-Aron Johannsson, 79), 21-Gyasi Zardes
(18-Bobby Wood, 46); 17-Jozy Altidore (8-Jordan Morris, 57)
Subs Not Used: 3-Omar Gonzalez, 7-Alfredo Morales, 12-Tim Howard, 24-Joe
Corona, 25-Greg Garza
Head Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann
BRA: 12-Marcelo Grohe; 2-Fabinho, 3-Miranda (capt.) (13-Marquinhos, 22),
4-David Luiz, 6-Marcelo; 17-Luis Gustavo (5-Fernandinho, 65), 24-Lucas Lima
(22-Lucas, 63), 8-Elias; 19-Willian (10-Neymar, 46), 21-Hulk (9-Firmino,
46), 7-Douglas Costa (18-Rafinha, 63)
Subs Not Used: 1-Jefferson, 11-Philippe Coutinho, 14-Gabriel Paulista,
15-Danilo, 16-Douglas Santos, 20-Kaká, 23-Alisson
Head coach: Dunga
Stats Summary: USA / BRA
Shots: 6 / 15
Shots on Goal: 4 / 7
Saves: 3 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 2
Fouls: 11 / 12
Offside: 0 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Michael Orozco (caution) 53rd minute
USA – Danny Williams (caution) 55