Continental Clásico: 4 key USMNT players who must step up against Brazil

The second edition of the Allstate Continental Clásico is coming up with a mouthwatering opportunity for the USMNT against Brazil. The match will be played on Wednesday, June 12 at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The United States drew 1-1 with Mexico in last year's game with Jesus Ferreira getting on the scoresheet for the Stars and Stripes.

It is a big summer of soccer for the USMNT who are hosting the Copa America. They have a friendly against Colombia before the Brazil game. These fixtures will be the last chance for some players who have had poor seasons with their clubs to impress before the tournament.

Brazil are the most succesful team in World Cup history having won the competition five times. The United States are co-hosting the World Cup in 2026 and every performance is leading up to this. Here are four players who must step up against Brazil:

1. Gio Reyna

Gio Reyna had a very poor club season at both Borussia Dortmund and Nottingham Forest. The first half of his campaign saw him play 14 times for Dortmund. In search of more game time, he then went on loan to Forest but he ended up playing less.

In total, for Forest, he made just nine appearances. However, he has starred for the USMNT recently with four goals and two assists in his last five games. The drama between himself, his parents and Gregg Berhalter which followed the World Cup in Qatar has been put behind them.

Reyna will be one of the main players that Berhalter will be looking at to make a difference against Brazil. The midfielder is set to return to Dortmund this summer — if he can perform against the best international teams then this will hopefully translate to his club soccer.

2. Folarin Balogun

Folarin Balogun was a star when he was at Stade de Reims. So much so that it was considered quite a coup when he switched his international allegiance from England to the USMNT. For Reims, he scored 22 goals in 39 games. However, this season for AS Monaco he found the back of the net just eight times in 32 matches.

Balogun has also scored just one goal in his last five games for the USMNT. He has competition for the striker's role from Josh Sargent and Haji Wright who both enjoyed successful season's in the Championship with Norwich City and Coventry City respectively. There is also Ricardo Pepi who did not start many games for PSV Eindhoven this campaign but still contributed well when called upon.

It was Wright who started the USMNT's last game against Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League final. Therefore, Balogun now has a fight on his hands to get back into Berhalter's starting lineup.

3. Joe Scally

With the injury to Sergino Dest, a vacancy needs to be filled at right-back. Yunus Musah and Timothy Weah could fill this role but they would be playing out of position. There is also Shaq Moore in the roster who plays right-back for Nashville in MLS. However, the most logical replacement for Dest is Joe Scally.

The Borussia Monchengladbach player needs to take this chance in Dest's absence to nail down a starting spot for the USMNT. If the 21-year-old can impress against Brazil then he should be in line to be Berhalter's first-choice right-back at the Copa America. The Brazilian's have Vinicius Junior as their left-winger who is one of the best players in the World right now. Facing Vinicius would be a very good test for Scally if he is selected.

4. Matt Turner

Matt Turner had a disappointing season at Nottingham Forest. He made 17 starts in the Premier League but a string of errors led to the club bringing in Matz Sels to replace him. However, Turner has remained the USMNT's number-one goalkeeper despite this.

He has not let Berhalter down but would ideally want to be starting for his club. What goes in Turner's favor is that he is the only United States goalkeeper at a team in the top five leagues in the World. Also in this roster is Ethan Horvath of Championship side Cardiff City and Sean Johnson who plays in MLS for Toronto FC.