USA Falls to Brazil 1-0 on Late Goal After Hard-Fought Effort in First Match at 2023 Pan American Games
Brazil Bags Three Points with 87th-Minute Tally; U.S. Men’s Pan American Team Returns to Action on Thursday, Oct, 26 vs. Honduras
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VALPARAISO, Chile (Oct. 23, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s Pan American Team dropped a hard-fought match to Brazil in its opening match of the 2023 Pan American Games. After holding strong for much of the afternoon, the USA gave up an 87th-minute goal to Brazil’s Miranda in the aftermath of a free kick.
U.S. goalkeeper Antonio Carrera made seven saves down the stretch, including a number of impressive stops against a dogged Brazilian attack. His brother, Nicolas Carrera, and Thomas Williams partnered in central defense and did well to hold firm against the South American power.
Two highlight-reel efforts from Antonio Carrera came just after halftime. In the 52nd, he deflected a powerful shot from inside the box before his defense halted three follow-up attempts. He then slid to get his hands on another shot and proceeded to re-position himself for a diving save to stop the barrage. On a free kick in U.S. territory in the 61st, Carrera made a diving save but the deflection rolled a few yards out and the follow-up shot ricocheted off the post. Another follow-up was parried by Williams.
Brazil’s breakthrough finally came in the 87th. Guilherme Biro served a free kick into the area from beyond the right corner of the box and while the U.S. headed down the initial ball in, Kaio Cesar kept the play alive inside the 18, working it back around for Biro to serve another ball in, which was headed across goal by Matheus Dias for the onrushing Miranda.
Next up, the USA will face Honduras on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. ET and Colombia on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. ET. Honduras fell 2-0 to Colombia in its first match. The men’s soccer tournament features two groups of four teams each. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the semifinals.
GROUP A STANDINGS & RESULTS
| W | L | D | GD | Pts. | |
| Chile | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Uruguay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Mexico | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
| Dominican Republic | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
Monday, Oct. 23
Uruguay 1, Dominican Republic 0
Chile 1, Mexico 0
GROUP B STANDINGS & RESULTS
| W | L | D | GD | Pts. | |
| Colombia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
| Honduras | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
Monday, Oct. 25
Colombia 2, Honduras 0
Brazil 1, USA 0
It’s the first time since 2007 that U.S. Soccer has sent a men’s team to the Pan American Games, a continental multi-sport event for North and South America featuring summer Olympic sports. The tournament has featured a variety of age restriction rules since its launch in 1951. As the Pan American Games are held the year before the Olympics, all nations are now restricted to bringing under-22 players, aligning with the under-23 age restriction at the Olympics. U.S. head coach Michael Nsien brought three players born in 2002, five born in 2003, five born in 2004 and five born in 2005.
The United States qualified for the Pan Am Games with its dominant title-winning performance at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship. The U.S. won the tournament for the third-straight time, clinching its first men’s Olympic berth since 2008 in the process. Four teams from Concacaf qualified to the Pan American Games, the U-20 Championship winner (USA) plus the best team from each of the confederation’s three sub-regions- Caribbean (Dominican Republic), Central America (Honduras) and North America (Mexico).
This year marks the U.S. men’s 13th appearance over 19 editions of the Pan American Games. The red, white and blue took home gold at the 1991 tournament in Havana, Cuba with the likes of future USMNT legends like Cobi Jones, Kasey Keller and Claudio Reyna. The USA also reached the podium in its tournament debut at Chicago 1959 and at Winnipeg 1999.
-U.S. MEN’S PAN AMERICAN TEAM MATCH REPORT-
Match: United States Men’s Pan American Soccer Team vs. Brazil
Date: Oct. 23, 2023
Competition: 2023 Pan American Games – Group B
Venue: Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander; Valparaiso, Chile
Weather: 70 degrees, clear
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 0 0
BRA 0 1 1
BRA – Miranda (Matheus Dias) 87th minute
Lineups:
USA: 12-Antonio Carrera; 4-Nicolas Carrera (Capt.), 5-Thomas Williams, 6-Daniel Leyva, 7-Jackson Hopkins (14-Vaughn Covil, 70) , 8-Brooklyn Raines (18-Javier Casas Jr., 70), 9-Theodore Ku-DiPietro (15-Sergio Oregel, 87), 10-Jack Panayotou, 13-Alexander Freeman (2-Mauricio Cuevas, 75), 16-Nolan Norris, 17-Rodrigo Neri (, 11-Tega Ikoba, 87)
Substitutes not used: 1-Chituru Odunze3-Michael Wentzel
Head coach: Michael Nsien
BRA: 1-Mycael; 3-Arthur Chaves, 4-Michel Modesto, 5-Ronald Falkoski (17-Kaio Cesar, 61), 6-Patryck, 7-Gabriel Pirani (16-Thauan Lara, 75), 8-Matheus Dias, 9-Matheus Nascimento, 10-Marquinhos (2-Miranda, 75), 11-Guilherme Biro (13-Gustavo Martins, 89), 15-Igor Jesus
Substitutes not used: 12-Andrew, 14-Matheus Donelli, 18-Figueiredo
Head coach: Ramon Menezes
Stats Summary: USA / BRA
Shots: 4 / 19
Shots on Goal: 2 / 8
Saves: 7 / 1
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3
Fouls: 15 / 10
Offside: 1 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
BRA – Marquinhos (Caution) 30th minute
USA – Nolan Norris (Caution) 37
USA – Alexander Freeman (Caution) 57
USA – Rodrigo Neri (Caution) �� 72
USA – Vaughn Covil (Caution) 89
Officials:
Referee: Jose Uscategui (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Edizon Nieto (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Antoni Garcia (VEN)
Fourth Official: Yender Herrera (VEN)