Brazil will field its gala eleven this Wednesday, with Vinícius Júnior at the helm, to face the United States in the last warm-up friendly before its debut in the Copa América against Costa Rica on the 24th.
Vinícius will lead a Canarinha that is coming off a tight 2-3 victory over the Mexican team thanks to the agonizing goal from Endrick, the 17-year-old teenager who has sparked enthusiasm among Brazilian fans with a goal.
The Palmeiras striker and next Real Madrid player has scored three goals in his last three games with the senior team against England, Spain, and Mexico, although he is expected to start from the bench in Orlando.
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The ‘menino’ from Taguatinga equaled Pelé and Coutinho, ‘O Rei”s teammate at Santos, as the only ones to score at least three goals with the national team before reaching the age of majority.
The locker room has not spared its praise for the young striker in recent days: “very humble”, “mature”, “enlightened”, and “predestined to score a goal”.
Despite everything, it is expected that the starting offensive trident against the United States will be the one formed by Vinícius, Raphinha, and Rodrygo, acting as a false nine.
The first, a candidate to emerge as the best soccer player on the planet in this Copa América, came out in the second half of the friendly with Mexico and assisted Endrick, while the other two did not even have minutes at the Kyle Field Stadium in Texas.
Behind, Lucas Paquetá will act in the 10 position, with João Gomes and Bruno Guimarães as containment dams in the center of the field.
In defense, it will be the turn of the Paris Saint-Germain center-back pair, Marquinhos and Beraldo. Danilo and Wendell should be the full-backs and Alisson, expected to start in the Copa América, can repeat in goal or Bento can have minutes.
The last time Brazil and the USA met on the same field was on September 7, 2018, in a friendly that ended with a 2-0 victory for the South American team, with goals from Roberto Firmino and Neymar, absent in this call due to injury.
Gregg Berhalter’s team, which this year was proclaimed champion of the Concacaf Nations League, also faces its last test before the Copa América after taking a bath from Colombia, which gave it a surprising 1-5.
The USA was a toy in the hands of those led by Néstor Lorenzo and suffered the worst defeat of the Berhalter era as coach. In a match riddled with errors, Timothy Weah’s winning goal was the only good news for the hosts in Landover.
Now he will try to rebuild his image against Brazil at the Camping World Stadium, where he had not played a game since January 1998.
The only victory for the ‘USA Team’ over Brazil was precisely that year, in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup (1-0).
All in all, the North American team should have no problems qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Copa América in a group with Bolivia, Panama, and Uruguay, the favorite of the four.
Brazil’s probable lineup
Alisson (Bento); Danilo, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Wendell; João Gomes, Bruno Guimarães, Lucas Paquetá; Vinícius, Raphinha and Rodrygo Goes.
Coach: Dorival Júnior.
United States probable lineup
Matt Turner; Joe Scally, Chris Richards, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Antonee Robinson; Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna; Christian Pulisic, Haji Wright y Folarin Balogun.
Coach: Gregg Berhalter.
Stadium: Camping World Stadium, in Orlando (Florida).
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET, United States.
