UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS of the World Cup staging ground in Brasilia, the U.S Olympic hopefuls never quite found their footing against a kinetic Selecao, who dominated possession and largely kept the Americans at arm’s reach throughout the contest. An early goal stunned the visitors and two late tallies delivered the knockout blow.

From the opening whistle, the Brazilians kept a frenetic pace. Swarming the American midfield with a high line of confrontation, Brazil's efforts resulted in several unforced errors from the U.S. back four, who looked rattled early on. The breakthrough came in the third minute, with the home team capitalizing on a costly mistake from Southampton keeper Cody Cropper. The netminder's very heavy touch on a quick back pass led to an opportunity for speedy winger Luan, who easily slotted his effort his home. One minute later, another powerful run down the right flank from Ademilson nearly doubled the advantage, only to have his effort deflected over the bar. It would be that kind of night for Tab Ramos' squad.

For much of the first half, and with the one-goal margin, Brazil was at its crafty best. Content to let the U.S. chase the match for the opening half hour, the squad created several chances, passing around the 18 yard box with ease on more than one occasion. When the Americans were finally able to retain some possession, misplaced passes, heavy touches, or poor runs invariably zapped the visitor's momentum.

The best chance of the first half came in the 39th minute. After some good ball movement between Emerson Hyndman and Benji Joya, the Chicago Fire man found a streaking Rubio Rubin who slid an inviting ball across the face of goal to Jordan Morris, who got the ball caught between his feet at the goal line. Despite the cringe-worthy miss, Morris was lively all night, demonstrating why Jurgen Klinsmann already considers the collegiate star a senior-level prospect.  After the break, the Yanks played for the counter attack. In the 57th minute they nearly pulled level. The move was nearly identical to the stretch that led to Morris' flubbed sitter, only this time it was Borussia Monchengladbach's Mario Rodriguez who couldn't find the net off a superb cross from Oscar Sorto.

Individual mistakes would seal the American's fate late on, leading to two more Brazilian tallies in the final quarter-hour. In the 75th minute, poor defensive spacing led to a free header for Douglas. Six minute later, another lapse gave Vinicius a 1v1 with Cropper, which he converted to put the match out of reach.

 

REACTION

I wouldn't read too much into this. It’s still 18 months from qualifying. But if you must…

The Good

While the Americans didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory with this performance, there were some bright spots. Ramos has some fine attacking talent at his disposal. Although he spends his week going up against the best the Pac-12 has to offer, Stanford’s Jordan Morris was clearly not in awe of the competition.

This just in, folks: Rubin is really, really good. If he can keep up this level of performance, which has him starting regularly in the Eredivisie, he should play a huge role in Rio and for the national team going forward. The same goes for Fulham’s Emerson Hyndman, whose absence greatly affected the American midfield in the final 30 minutes. But we already knew this…

On the defensive side, LA Galaxy’s Oscar Sorto put in a solid shift at right back handling the one-way Brazilian traffic, while 16-year old center back (Yes, 16) Cameron Carter-Vickers showed that he can physically hang at this advanced age level. A relative unknown in even the nerdiest of American soccer circles, the Tottenham prospect could be another big time dual national pickup for U.S. Soccer if his progression continues.

THE BAD

This squad needs a dedicated defensive midfielder to shield the backline. This is where the absence of Columbus Crew’s Wil Trapp (club commitments) and Freiburg’s Caleb Stanko (ACL injury) are perhaps the most glaring. Again, given that this was not a full-strength lineup there is plenty of room for improvement and experimentation. However, deploying Hyndman, Joya, or Dortmund’s Junior Flores at the spot is a stop-gap measure at the absolute best.

THE UGLY

The score line may even be flattering for the U.S. It could have been 7-0. Despite some gaffes, Cropper largely kept the match from turning into a farce. A diving save in the 30th minute, two close-range Brazilian misses and a stoppage time goal line clearance was all that stopped the contest from turning into an even-more-humbling rout.

Josh Deaver is a former academic turned soccer obsessive. Follow him on Twitter.