U.S. National Team ties with Chile 1-1 in Houston

Former Columbus Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter remains undefeated at the U.S. Men’s National Team as the Stars & Stripes tied reigning Copa America champions Chile 1-1 at the BBVA Compass Stadium, in Houston Texas, with a solid contribution from Gyasi Zardes.

The Black & Gold striker, who made his international debut against Chile back in 2015, was one of just four players Berhalter kept from the starting lineup after of last week’s victory over Ecuador. Crew captain Wil Trapp was among the ones who were taken off from the start by the head coach.

Zardes needed just four minutes to validate Berhalter’s decision, as the forward stepped outside the penalty box to control a long pass and feed Christian Pulisic with a gorgeous through ball, which the star midfielder chipped over goalkeeper Gabriel Arias to open the scoring for the U.S. The Borussia Dortmund player left the game before halftime with a quad injury.

Five minutes later, Oscar Opazo fired a powerful left-footed shot to beat Ethan Horvarth and tie the game. It was the first goal conceded by the Stars & Stripes since Berhalter’s arrival.

Zardes had a good chance to put the Americans ahead at the 55th minute, when he picked up a deflected ball in the penalty box but fired it over the goal. He left the game in the 78th minute and was one of the most active American offensive players.

Trapp entered the game at the 65th minute mark, replacing Paul Arriola. The Black & Gold captain featured in a defensive midfield pairing with veteran Michael Bradley and did a fine job in distributing the ball and opposing the Chilean offense.

The match against the South Americans was the last for the USMNT before the start of the 2019 Gold Cup, in which the Americans will debut on June 18 against an opponent yet to be determined. Other than the draw with the Chileans, the U.S. has earned victories over Panama (3-0), Costa Rica (2-0) and Ecuador (1-0) under Berhalter.