Brazil vs USA: Pulisic equalises after Rodrygo’s goal in last Copa America warmup

Christian Pulisic and the U.S. team end 11-game losing streak to Brazil with spirited 1-1 draw, boosting Copa America hopes.

Four days after one of their worst matches, Christian Pulisic and the U.S. football team stopped an 11-game losing streak to Brazil with a spirted 1-1 draw that left them with a positive mindset heading into the Copa America.

Pulisic scored in 26th minute to offset Rodrygo’s 17th-minute goal and Matt Turner had 11 saves, the most for an American goalkeeper since Tim Howard’s 15 in the second-round loss to Belgium at the 2014 World Cup.

“It’s obviously a huge bounce back performance for us,” Turner said. “We really stared in the face of adversity and we were able to bounce back a few days later. And in tournament play that’s so, so important because not every result, not every call is going to go your way and you have to be able put things behind you.”

Rebounding from a 5-1 loss to Colombia last weekend, the Americans are now 1-18 with the draw against Brazil, getting their only win in a 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal. The Seleção had 61% of possession, outshot the U.S. 24-12 and had a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks.

“We feel like we made a little step. It’s not a huge step, but it’s a little step to be able to play against an amazingly talented Brazil team and bend but not break and I think give them problems, as well,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said.

Among six invited guests to the Copa America, the U.S. opens against Bolivia on June 23 and then plays Panama and Uruguay. Brazil, which last won the South American title in 2007, has first-round matches against Costa Rica, Paraguay and Colombia.

“It just puts us in a good place,” American defender Tim Ream said. “Obviously, it’s a good result going into tournament play and I think that’s what we needed.”