USMNT earns 1-1 draw vs. Venezuela in friendly

SANDY, Utah (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Men’s National Team used a 61^st minute equalizer from Christian Pulisic to earn a 1-1 draw against Venezuela in a World Cup Qualifying warmup in front of 17,315 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

The U.S. now sets its sights on a crucial home qualifying clash against Trinidad & Tobago on Thursday, June 8 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. (7:50 p.m. ET; FS1, UniMas and UDN).

The U.S. held a good spell of possession throughout the first half, but it was Venezuela that broke through first when José Manuel Velázquez got on the end of a cross from Júnior Moreno and volleyed past Tim Howard from close range in the 29^th minute.

+READ: USA falls 2-1 to Venezuela in FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinals

Howard was then called into action to make two diving stops just after the half-hour mark. The veteran goalkeeper turned Moreno’s long-distance effort out for a corner kick in the 33^rd minute, before making an alert reaction save on Rubert Quijada’s diving header a minute later.

The U.S. carried much of the play on the other side of halftime, with Clint Dempsey setting the tone when he headed a cross from Jorge Villafaña just wide of the left post in the 48^th minute.

The side finally broke through in the 61^st minute when a well-worked play between Villafaña and Fabian Johnson led to Pulisic’s clinical equalizer from the top of the area. As the U.S. pushed for the winner, second-half substitute Jordan Morris came close twice in the final 10 minutes, but was thwarted on both opportunities by Venezuela goalkeeper José Contreras who preserved the 1-1 draw.

Next on the Schedule: The U.S. MNT will continue its quest to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup this summer when it welcomes Trinidad & Tobago on Thursday, June 8 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City Colo. Kickoff is set for 7:50 p.m. ET and the match can be seen live on FS1, UniMas and UDN.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
VEN – Jose Manuel Velazquez (Júnior Moreno), 29th minute: Moreno’s corner kick from the right found Christian Santos at the back post, where he headed across goal. Clint Dempsey nodded the ball to the left side of the area where Moreno pounced to put it back across and find Velazquez who volleyed past Howard inside the six-yard box.
USA 0, VEN 1.

USA – Christian Pulisic (Fabian Johnson), 61^st minute: The U.S. pulled level just after the hour mark. Jorge Villafaña penetrated down the left flank before squaring a pass for Johnson at the corner of the area, where he threaded a pass for Pulisic. The USA attacker took a touch before cutting to his left where he unleashed a low blast that José Contreras could only get a single hand to before it trickled over the line. USA 1, VEN 1 [WATCH] FINAL.

Key Saves and Defensive Stops:

VEN – José Contreras, 26^th minute: One of many nice combinations up the right side led to the USA’s first effort on goal. A quick back and forth between Fabian Johnson and Bobby Wood saw the forward make his way to the end line where he fired a powerful tight-angled shot that Contreras did well to hold on to as traffic closed in.

USA – Tim Howard, 33^rd minute: Following a Venezuela corner kick, DeAndre Yedlin saw his clearance partially deflected, allowing the ball to fall for Júnior Moreno who alertly rocketed a dipping effort from 25 yards that forced Howard into a diving stop at the left post.

USA – Tim Howard, 34^th minute: On the ensuing corner kick, Moreno’s take from the right picked out Velazquez at the near post. His flick-on header fell for Rubert Quijada at the back post where the Venezuela defender powered a low, diving header that forced another diving stop out of Howard.

VEN – José Contreras, 80^th minute: Michael Bradley drove a pass forward for Bobby Wood who laid a ball into the path of Jordan Morris, but just as the U.S. forward was about to get a touch, Contreras came well off his line to clear away the danger.

VEN – José Contreras, 84^th minute: The U.S. came close again four minutes later when DeAndre Yedlin found space on the right before centering a cross for Jordan Morris whose snap header at the penalty spot was well held by Contreras.

NOTES:

• Christian Pulisic’s 61^st minute equalizer was the fifth of his international career and comes just a year after tallying his first in a 4-0 win against Bolivia on May 28, 2016.
• Fabian Johnson provided the assist on Pulisic’s goal. The helper was the 11^th of Johnson’s international career, tying him for 11^th on the MNT’s all-time assist list with Jozy Altidore, John Harkes, and Alexi Lalas.
• Clint Dempsey earned his 133^rd cap, pulling him within one appearance of Jeff Agoos for third on the U.S. MNT’s all-time caps list.
• Arena started a four-man back line featuring DeAndre Yedlin, Geoff Cameron, John Brooks, and Jorge Villafaña from right to left.
• The four-man U.S. midfield featured Fabian Johnson and Darlington Nagbe on the right and left flanks, respectively. Captain Michael Bradley played in the holding midfielder role, while Christian Pulisic played in an advanced central position.
• Up top, Bobby Wood paired with Clint Dempsey.
• With the result, the U.S. MNT remains unbeaten against Venezuela, going 3-0-2 all-time.
• The MNT also moved to 4-0-1 all-time in the state of Utah and 3-0-1 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

– U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report –

Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Venezuela
Date: June 3, 2017
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Kickoff: 8 p.m. MT
Attendance: 17,315
Weather: 80 degrees; partly cloudy

Scoring Summary:       1          2          F                                                         
USA                               0          1          1
VEN                               1          0          1

VEN – José Manuel Velázquez (Júnior Moreno)  29^th minute
USA – Christian Pulisic (Fabian Johnson)           61

Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 2-DeAndre Yedlin (19-Graham Zusi, 90), 4-Michael Bradley (capt.), 6-John Brooks (21-Matt Hedges, 56), 8-Clint Dempsey (16-Kellyn Acosta, 63), 9-Bobby Wood, 10-Christian Pulisic, 15-Darlington Nagbe (18-Jordan Morris, 70), 17-Jorge Villafaña, 20-Geoff Cameron (3-Omar Gonzalez, 45), 23-Fabian Johnson (14-Tim Ream, 63)
Subs: 22-Nick Rimando, 11-Alejandro Bedoya, 13-Dax McCarty
Head coach: Bruce Arena

VEN: 1-José Contreras; 3-Mikel Villanueva, 4-Rubert Quijada, 6-José Manuel Velázquez (18-Yordan Osorio, 56), 17-Pablo Camacho; 5-Francisco Flores, 11-Darwin Machís (16-Aristóteles Romero, 67), 14-Júnior Moreno (13-Francisco La Mantía, 83), 15-Jhon Murillo (2-Jefre Vargas, 89), 9-Salomón Rondón (capt.) (23-Andrés Ponce, 90+3), 19-Christian Santos (10-Jefferson Savarino, 72)
Subs: 12-Alain Baroja, 7-Edder Farías, 20-José Luis Marrufo
Head coach: Marcos Mathias

Stats Summary: USA / VEN
Shots: 12 / 10
Shots on Goal: 2 / 4
Saves: 1 / 3
Corner Kicks: 5 / 2
Fouls: 9 / 12
Offside: 2 / 2

Misconduct Summary:
None.

Officials:
Referee: Jeffrey Solis (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Osvaldo Luna (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Alejandro Camarena (PAN)
Fourth Official: Juan Calderon (CRC)                                                       

ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Tim Howard