USA vs. Brazil match preview: U.S.’s last match before its face-off with Mexico

USA vs. Brazil match preview: U.S.’s last match before its face-off with Mexico
The U.S. men’s national team got back onto the right track on Friday when they beat Peru 2-1 on a pair of Jozy Altidore goals. The next big challenge before facing Mexico in the Confederations Cup playoff is another South American opponent, Brazil. It was very important for the U.S. to […]

The U.S. men’s national team got back onto the right track on Friday when they beat Peru 2-1 on a pair of Jozy Altidore goals. The next big challenge before facing Mexico in the Confederations Cup playoff is another South American opponent, Brazil.

It was very important for the U.S. to get back into the win column. After falling apart in the knockout rounds of the Gold Cup, it appeared that head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s seat was getting much hotter. A win against Peru may only cool it off a little bit, but it’s a step in the right direction.

A big part of that was the two goals of Jozy Altidore and the play of Gyasi Zardes, who drew rave reviews from his teammates, his coaches, and the media. Brad Guzan was solid and had a couple of key saves in one second half sequence.

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One worrying trend for Altidore is that he missed his second penalty in as many attempts for the U.S. Luckily he was right there to tap it back in, but he has been one of the more consistent penalty takers for the US.

It’s been a bit of a rough go for Brazil since the World Cup a year ago. They replaced head coach Luis Felipe Scolari with Dunga (who managed the team from 2006-2010). Things started well enough with Brazil winning 11 in a row, including the first game of this summer’s Copa America. But a 1-0 loss to Colombia that saw Neymar suspended for the rest of the tournament derailed the campaign, and they crashed out in the quarterfinals in a shootout loss to Paraguay.

As always, the Brazil roster is stacked with loads of talent and recognizable names, but the most interesting call up is that of Orlando City man Kaka, who earns his first recall since before the World Cup.

Notes:

Jozy Altidore is second in goals scored for the U.S. this year with four. Clint Dempsey leads the way with nine.
The win against Peru snapped a two-game home winless streak for the U.S.
This is the second game this year the U.S. will play at Gillette Stadium. The first was a Gold Cup game against Haiti.
The Confederations Cup playoff game between the U.S. and Mexico has an official name: the CONCACAF Cup.
U.S. Soccer has confirmed a friendly for three days after the CONCACAF Cup, this one against Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena.

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When, Where

Tuesday, Sept. 8

Gillette Stadium

Foxborough, Massachusetts

8 p.m. E.T.

ESPN2, UniMas

All-Time Series

USA trails 1-16-0

Last Meeting

May 30, 2012

FedEx Field