The US Under-17 national team failed in their bid to defend their International Friendlies title on Tuesday, falling 4-1 to the Brazil U-17s in the final game of the Florida tournament.
The US (2-1-0) finished the round-robin competition with six points, one point short of first-place Brazil (2-0-1) but ahead of U-17 squads from England (1-1-1; 4 points) and Australia (0-3-0; 0 points).
Brazil jumped all over the US on Tuesday, creating several early opportunities before going ahead in the 14th minute. Midfielder Christian Pulisic equalized for the US in the 22nd, assisted by Haji Wright (pictured above), but Brazil quickly went back ahead, re-taking the lead in the 42nd minute before adding on in the 62nd and 70th.
Four of the five MLS Academy players on the US U-17 roster featured in Tuesday’s game, with FC Dallas forward Alejandro Zendejas and New York Red Bulls defender Tyler Adams going the full 90, and Red Bulls midfielder Matthew Olusunde and Real Salt Lake defender Tanner Dieterich seeing time off the bench.
