Brooklyn Raines Earns First Start in USMNT Win Over Chile

The United States Men's National Team returned to the pitch to play Chile in a friendly on Tuesday evening, and the USMNT secured a 4-2 win.

Brooklyn Raines earned his first start for the senior national team while Peyton Miller was on the bench. Raines worked alongside Sebastian Berhalter and Adri Mehmeti in the midfield while Julian Hall earned a start as well

Chris Brady started in net behind a backline of Antonee Robinson Miles Robinson, Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield. Gio Reyna was the only player from the starting XI against Peru to stay in the lineup while veteran Sergino Dest made it into the 11.

Compared to the match against Peru, it took some time for the U.S. to find its way into the game. The attack needed some time to put together meaningful chances, but Reyna nearly once again opened the scoring with his beautiful service in the 13th minute. He floated a free kick that found Hall, who sent a header downwards towards goal but Lawrence Vigouroux made the save.

But the United States struggled to break down and get through the Chile backline. The opponents were then able to turn these chances into some quality counterattacks and test Brady.

The U.S. nearly broke the deadlock in the 19th minute as Hall split the backline and was in on goal all alone. He rounded the Chilean goalkeeper, but his shot was skied over goal, and the chance was wasted.

Chile was largely just putting the United States under pressure while the home side was on the ball. The away side was pressing ferociously and wasn't afraid to play physically.

After a Hall shot rocketed off of Chile's goalkeeper in the 31st minute, the away side quickly moved up the field and played a long ball and Brady opted to stay in net rather than claim it. A shot was rocketed Brady's way but he was able to make the save while conceding a corner.

Chile nearly broke the deadlock in the 34th minute as a shot from Ben Brereton Díaz rocketed off the crossbar to eventually be dealt with. It would be followed up a minute later with Darío Osorio curling a shot off the far post.

But a beautiful stretch of play would see the U.S. open the scoring. Reyna found Dest streaking toward goal. The PSV player sent a ball centrally to Hall, who dummied the pass, which found Berhalter all alone, and the Middlesbrough midfielder buried the chance in the 37th minute.

Unfortunately for the United States, just before half, the home side would concede. Brady struggled to claim a corner, and a loose ball in front of goal was eventually put home by Diego Ulloa in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.

Brady would be subbed out at half, with Brian Schwake playing in between the sticks for the second half. His USMNT tenure would get off to a difficult start as Maximiliano Gutiérrez blasted a shot past the shotstopper to give Chile the lead in the 49th minute.

It wouldn't take the United States long to respond as Reyna sent a cross into the box that Hall was able to head home in the 52nd minute. It was an impressive effort as he beat a defender to the ball and still was able to direct the ball goalwards.

In the 62nd minute, the U.S. made multiple changes to bring on more experienced players. Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Auston Trusty, Alex Freeman, and Malik Tillman replaced Miles Robinson, Mehmeti, Pierre, Westfield, and Dest. The U.S. made two additional changes in the 70th minute as Hall and Reyna came off for Damion Downs and Mathis Albert.

In the 71st minute, Antonee Robinson launched a shot on goal that was parried away but sent out for a USA corner kick. Berhalter launched the ensuing corner into the box and found Richards, who buried the header to give the U.S. a 3-2 lead in the 72nd minute.

Schwake made a diving save in the 78th minute on a looping ball to preserve the USA lead. Soon after, Cavan Sullivan would replace Berhalter in the 83rd minute. The Union player made a great run in stoppage time to get the U.S. into the final third, and Downs wound up on the ball and rocketed a shot on goal that was tipped out for a corner kick.

The cherry on top for the United States would come in the third minute of stoppage time as Trusty flicked a free kick from Robinson towards the center of the box and Albert tapped the ball into the back of the net thanks to an acrobatic effort to cap off the victory.

The fact that Raines played all 90 minutes is a good sign for the youngster. While it is hard to know what is going through Mauricio Pochettino's head, he must have some level of trust to keep him out there for the whole match. Getting to play next to Tyler Adams is a nice treat as well. Raines even completed his performance with a great run to chase down a Chilean attacker and stop a counterattack.