USA vs. Brazil: Americans Show Inferiority to Tough International Talent

Brazil forced Team USA to leave FedEx Field via spaceship.

On Wednesday, the Brazilians proved that they’re on a different planet than the Americans in a 4-1 international friendly victory that was anything but friendly. They exposed Team USA as an inferior football club to a true juggernaut.

Steve Busfield of The Guardian reported that Jurgen Klinsmann said of Brazil that they entered the match mentally prepared—something that the Americans couldn’t relate to:

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We're treating this period of time like it would be a small tournament because this camp is a lot about how the players build chemistry and deal with a longer period of time being together. It's about how they are willing to go the extra mile in that time period to answer a lot of questions in that stretch. That's why we're calling it almost a mini-tournament.

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Team USA doesn’t even have the luxury of using a lack of opportunities as an excuse. Brazil only possessed the ball 52 percent of the match.

The shots-on-goal differential was irrelevant as well. In fact, the Americans even fired more shots than the Brazilians—17 compared to 13. But let’s just say Brazil’s 13 were a significantly louder.

After their own dominant win against Scotland, the only thing Team USA accomplished on Wednesday is proving Scotland’s lack of talent. The five goals that the Americans scored seemed like a distant memory.

Neymar, Thiago Silva, Marcelo and Pato all hammered balls past the helpless hands of Tim Howard. The goalie managed to make three saves, but it wasn’t enough—especially when Rafael of Brazil made five.

A single player—the 20-year-old Neymar—sliced and diced the American defense to account for a goal and two assists on the day. He was the best player on the field. And the better team with the best player left no doubt about those facts by the time that the 90th minute had passed.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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