Turner made a solid stop on Vinícius Júnior after a breakdown in the 17th minute, but followed it up with a poor choice in distribution.

That ended up costly, as the needless long ball (that was too long for Weston McKennie, but not long enough for anyone else in blue) became a Brazil goal just five seconds later.

Still, Turner was more good than bad on the night, and he needed to be given the numerous powerful shots Brazil sent his way. The Nottingham Forest goalkeeper made a stellar 74th minute stop to deny Rodrygo a brace after Joe Scally seemed confused over whether a ball had gone out of bounds or not.

Turner made a great read on a late corner to spring a jailbreak counter, but Folarin Balogun was tackled by Vini Jr., who was somehow the last man back.

Two late saves capped off a showing that was, if not an outright statement, certainly a step in the right direction for Turner.

Scally drew praise from commentators during the match for coming through in some big moments, but in truth it was a far more up-and-down performance for the Borussia Mönchengladbach defender.

Confirmation bias likely makes it easy to recall Scally coming up with a strong intervention to deny Vini Jr. in isolation in the second half, or his smart work in conjunction with Weston McKennie to carve out a great chance for Christian Pulisic in the 68th minute. When Scally was good in this match, he was very good.

However, he was torched by Vini Jr. just before the Brazil goal, and Rodrygo seemed to have an easy time losing Scally in the first half. The Barcelona attacker’s opening 45 minutes showing included a goal, two successful dribbles from two attempts, a key pass, and he was the outlet to break U.S. pressure several times.

Furthermore, Scally’s defensive success in isolation was sometimes a product of being disconnected from the rest of the group. His recovery to keep those moments from becoming disastrous was good, but he’d really be better off not ending up in that kind of difficulty on a regular basis.

The evidence is there that Scally can be the top choice to replace Sergiño Dest, but he’ll have to be much more consistent to have a good Copa América.

Richards was steady enough in the first half, but once Brazil switched to a 4-3-3 in the second half, pushing Bruno Guimarães further forward, the Crystal Palace man got caught out of position a couple of times.

He was also at the center of a strange situation early in the second half. Richards seemed to be on the brink of a VAR red card after being called for a 51st minute foul that might have been a DOGSO situation, only for the review to end with him having a yellow card chalked off.

The Alabama native made crucial second-half interventions on Rodrygo and Endrick to turn potential go-ahead goals into shots that went right at Turner.

Overall, the USMNT would be better served if Richards were a step closer so those scenarios were less dramatic, and his positioning in moments was less than ideal. However, it wasn’t like he outright struggled either, meriting a rating that is neither high nor low.

The USMNT couldn’t afford cheap giveaways against this electric attacking side, and Ream delivered: 98% passing accuracy (that’s 48 for 49), which included some accurate long-range passes. Ream steadied a team that in multiple moments seemed on the verge of wobbling.

Moreover, Ream’s press resistance was excellent, particularly when Brazil’s second-half triple substitution added some energy to its front line.

There were a couple of moments where Endrick gained a step on the slower Fulham veteran, but Ream overall underlined his credentials as a USMNT starter at Copa América.

Robinson flew under the radar at times, but had a strong 90 minutes. He had three key passes, tied with McKennie for the team lead, and used his positioning and speed to make sure he wasn’t isolated against Raphinha with any regularity.

As the second half wore on, Robinson’s fitness helped him grow in influence going forward, which in turn helped Pulisic become more dangerous.

It’s remarkable that for Robinson, this is just more or less the norm at this point. The USMNT arguably doesn’t have a more consistent player.

Reyna’s 65 minutes were certainly on the quiet side, though some of that was the nature of the match that played out around him. With the USMNT looking to create its danger through Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah, Reyna became more of a facilitator than a creator.

Seen in that light, his 25-for-28 passing was fulfilling a team need, and he drew three fouls in the process. Reyna has been knocked for a lack of defensive effort, but in this match he attempted 13 ground duels, more than any other player on either team at the time he was subbed off.

The downside? Reyna only won five of those, and at times was a step or two slow to rotate when Brazil was in possession.

Still, Reyna was solid and kept his mistakes to a minimum, and a lack of flash shouldn’t obscure that.

With Reyna forcing his way into a starting role and McKennie’s name written in ink on Gregg Berhalter’s team sheet, Musah is facing intense competition to get playing time somewhere, whether that’s the battle with Johnny Cardoso to deputize for Tyler Adams, or at right back in Dest’s absence.

On that front, Musah did some things that will certainly help his cause. The 21-year-old was denied an absolutely spectacular early opener after his shot smacked off the crossbar, and back down off of Alisson. Somehow, this didn’t end in a goal.

Unfortunately, Musah’s early promise faded. His giveaway gave Brazil its first good look of the night, and he was both out of position and inactive as Raphinha passed through the space the AC Milan man left open to set up Rodrygo’s opener.

Musah is generally very influential in a quiet manner, and on the night his influence was a bit muted. This isn’t his best position, and he wasn’t all bad, but Johnny might have a tiny edge to start against Bolivia in 11 days.

McKennie didn’t see a lot of the ball, and generally was not that influential in the first half. However, while the former remained the case in the second half (he had just 32 touches in 90 minutes, and attempted a mere 18 passes), the Juventus midfielder was in the thick of the best USMNT moments.

His movement drove a combination with Scally that ended with a great chance for Pulisic in the 68th minute, and his technique and intelligence opened up another look for the AC Milan attacker that trickled just wide in the 86th.

McKennie had a lot of positional work to do as the USMNT absorbed some pressure, and was largely an obstacle that Brazil found difficult to solve.

Weah brought some truly remarkable efforts off the ball, particularly in adding an extra defensive number when Brazil was trying to set up in the U.S. defensive third. We don’t have distance covered data available, but Weah was surely up near the top of the list.

That set a tone, which was vital given the quality of the opposition and the nature of the team’s lack of intensity against Colombia. The Juventus wingback isn’t known as a vocal leader, but this was an excellent example of leading by example.

The underlying data says that Weah didn’t exactly offer a ton on the ball, with 10 losses of possession and just one successful dribble. Still, the sheer effort he put into his defensive duty helped the USMNT avoid being overwhelmed, particularly with Brazil pushing Wendell further up the left flank.

Pepi didn’t see a lot of the ball in the first half, but his defensive work mattered for the USMNT. He was getting into passing lanes, and jumping back to pressure Guimarães and João Gomes, both of which helped keep Brazil predictable.

Pepi’s ability to reliably contribute in terms of dirty work may end up making him essential for the USMNT in the knockout stages, and that could end up tilting his competition with Folarin Balogun (who replaced him in the 64th minute).

Like Weah, Pulisic brought urgency and intensity, including a “send a message” hack on Raphinha that somehow didn’t end up getting the U.S. captain a yellow.

Pulisic welcomed contact to draw multiple fouls, eventually equalizing on a goal he manufactured, capitalizing on some smart set-piece design to fizz a low shot past the unsighted Alisson.

Alisson got revenge in the 68th minute, doing very well to deny Pulisic from what looked like a sitter after good work from McKennie and Scally.

Pulisic kept the turnovers to a minimum, and got himself into dangerous positions on a regular basis. Sure, normally you’d like to see him bury one more of those looks, but like Weah, Pulisic offered the kind of performance that sparks better play from his teammates.

Berhalter had to get a reaction out of the USMNT after an unacceptable showing against Colombia, and from an emotional perspective, he got it. The buy-in was not in question, with the U.S. making sure that they matched or exceeded Brazil’s effort throughout.

The USMNT coach emphasized after the Colombia loss (in his post-match press conference as well as in the media availabilities from Orlando before this match) that the group had to stay compact and disciplined without the ball, and that’s precisely what he got. The USMNT was in a 4-3-3 and played largely out of a mid-block, but when Brazil pushed them back, they kept their shape and denied access to central channels.

Did the USMNT learn as much from this window as they would have by getting to rotate a bit more? No, but the debacle at Commanders Field necessitated a response, and Berhalter can claim some credit for getting one.

It seemed sure that Balogun might claim a late winner, only for Vini Jr. to end up saving Brazil after Turner’s smart outlet turned a defensive set piece into a dangerous attack.

Balogun got a shout-out from Berhalter in his post-match remarks for influencing the game, and that was mostly down to his off-ball running. Balogun’s best showings have all come attacking space, and he offered that in Orlando.

On the other hand, he was indecisive once the ball arrived, creating just one shot (that was blocked) and generally looking like a player who ended the season in a bit of a slump. The USMNT needs his confidence inside the box to return.

Johnny was briefly the No. 6 before Tyler Adams came in, with the Real Betis man shifting into a No. 8 role from the 76th minute onward.

Despite the shuffling around, Johnny was a real bright spot. Per Sofascore, he was not guilty of even one turnover, and he found his target with every single pass he attempted. That steadied the ship for the U.S. at a vital moment, and allowed the USMNT to do less suffering defensively.

One highlight was some excellent work to turn a difficult spell under pressure into not just an exit, but a counter for the U.S. in the 87th minute.

Adams came in for Musah in the 76th minute, setting up in his familiar role at the base of the midfield.

Like Johnny, Adams kept the turnovers to a minimum, and his positioning looked sharp as the USMNT found itself under the gun in the final minutes.

Perhaps most importantly, Adams was well enough to be seen on TNT’s broadcast doing post-match fitness work beyond his 15-minute shift. That means he avoided injury, which is always a welcome sign after a year spent largely watching games in street clothes.

Aaronson was his normal energetic self, turning a 15-minute cameo into a positive influence on proceedings.

He was denied by Alisson in the 83rd minute with one of his two shot attempts (the other was blocked by a defender), and managed to draw a free kick, win a duel, and generally give the U.S. some juice just as their legs might have started to fade.

Moore came on for Scally in the 85th minute, which was not quite long enough to register a rating.