Looking to build off of their dominating 5-1 win over Scotland, the United States men's soccer team will face powerhouse Brazil in an international friendly Wednesday night at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
The exhibition is part of a five-game slate for the Americans that includes three friendlies before two World Cup qualifying matches.
On Saturday the U.S. played one of their best matches against a Scotland side that was overmatched. They consistently pressured the Scots and created multiple scoring opportunities, finishing five of them. Landon Donovan led the way by scoring his first international hat trick in five years and raised his career international goals mark to 49, most ever for an American player.
But facing Brazil, a five-time World Cup champion, is an entirely different story. Although they will be without their full squad, Brazil will bring plenty of big stars including Neymar (Santos), Thiago Silva (Milan), Alexandre Pato (Milan), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Hulk (Porto), David Luiz (Chelsea), Sandro (Tottenham), Rafael (Manchester United) and Lucas Moura (São Paulo).
The U.S. is expected to be without both Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore for the second consecutive match. Dempsey is recovering from a groin injury and not in full match condition. He could possibly see time as a substitute. Altidore only joined the team on Monday because his club team refused to release him before the FIFA international window. It is unlikely head coach Jurgen Klinsmann will play Altidore without the striker getting in many training sessions.
Don't expect this U.S. squad to be quite as aggressive as they were against Scotland. Brazil is far too talented for the Americans to put as much pressure on them. Brazil is adept at getting out of tight spaces and burning opponents. The Yanks will try to control the ball as much as possible and hope to have repeat performances from central midfielders Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones, who both shined against Scotland. While they may play slightly more defensive in this match, the Americans have proven that they can score goals against Brazil, such as in their 3-2 loss in the 2009 Confederations Cup final in which the U.S. built a 2-0 lead before Brazil stormed back to win.
The United States and Brazil have faced each other a number of times in recent years. In fact, this match will be their fifth meeting since 2007 and should prove to be quite an entertaining exhibition.
