Brazil beats U.S., 2-0, in a friendly
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ. – Less than two months removed from their World Cup run this summer, the U.S. men's national team reconvened Tuesday night for the first time on American soil since it was ousted in the second round.
They were greeted warmly, cheered loudly and supported thoroughly in their game against Brazil. But much like the loss to Ghana that ended their run in South Africa, the U.S. fell short once again, this time losing 2-0 in an international friendly to a fresh-faced Brazil team in front of 77,223 at the New Meadowlands Stadium. The crowd was the third-largest crowd in New Jersey for a men's national match.
Two first-half goals spelled their demise, and the U.S. had little to counter a Brazilian that had only three starters who saw significant playing time in last month's World Cup.
Brazilian forward Neymar scored on a header in the 29th minute. The forward hopped to get a cross from the left wing, and headed it in. Three minutes later, Alexandre Pato tumbled through goalkeeper Tim Howard and guided the ball in, but the goal was waved off.
In stoppage time, however, Pato came back after catching a pass inside the penalty box, beat a falling Howard and went right before striking a goal from 10 yards out.
The U.S. players, whose popularity grew exponentially during this last World Cup, were back home, playing in an exhibition match that was a "thank you" of sorts for their fans' support. (It also showcased the New Meadowlands Stadium, one of more than a dozen venues mentioned as potential sites for a U.S. bid to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.)
"Anytime you play in front of a crowd with 77,000 people," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said, "that's special. U.S. fans, Brazilian fans, soccer fans – all of us appreciate the opportunity to be here on nights like this."
Bradley, whose contract runs up at the end of the year, handpicked 15 of the 23 players from this past summer's team that went to the World Cup, including Howard and midfielder Landon Donovan.
As a whole, Tuesday's team hardly resembled the one that last played together two months ago.
"I thought we started well, pretty aggressively," Donovan said.
"I think we were just tired," Donovan said. "They're a young team that they had tonight. From an experience standpoint, they had a lot of guys that played in a lot of big games and I thought they showed. The effort was good, but I think if we're going to get to the next level, it's still got to be a lot better."