Bob Bradley is faced with a dilemma.
Should he play nine men behind the ball and leave Altidore on top? It almost worked for Iraq against Spain. Or is the game itself more important than the result? The Kiwis outmatched in every game should get some points here for opting to play the latter.
We have to go back 11 years for the last US victory against the Seleccao.
The USA’s only victory against Brazil came in memorable circumstances during the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller turned in one of the great goalkeeping performances of his illustrious career, and a second half goal from Preki gave the U.S. an unlikely victory against the reigning world champions.
The defense looks particularly problematic. Carlos Bocanegra remains doubtful for the match and Jonathan Bornstein stuggled against the Italians.
Heath Pearce will likely get a start. So should Freddy Adu who is being wasted sitting on the bench and is much more creative than Sacha Kjlestan. DaMarcus Beasley should get a look ahead of Benny Feilhaber to give more of a threat down the left.
Adu and Jozy Altidore have combined well in the past.
Adu assisted on both Altidore goals against Brazil in the 2007 U-20 World Cup which led to a memorable, 2-1 win.
The US will have their hands full against Kaka and Robinho. But they will have to be on guard against Dani Alves who as a foraging right wing back supplies a lot of balls into the box. The Brazilians have gotten more physical under Dunga and a number of goals come from set pieces rather than open play. I expect that Adu, Donovan, and Dempsey will track back quickly to help and solve Bradley’s defensive conundrum.
The best bet is a strong defensive show capitalizing on the occasional counter attack to keep the Brazilians from getting too comfortable. A draw would be brilliant. A win would be celestial.