PHOENIX – Alejandro Guido didn’t last 20 minutes before leaving with injury; Mario Rodriguez miraculously completed the match, but had to be attended to directly following.

The U.S. U17 Men’s National Team arrived for a soccer match against Brazil and wound up in a Friday Night fight.

There were nervous moments, ankle and knee clutching, whistles blown and two red cards issued before the U.S. side walked away with an admirable 0-0 draw in their second match of the Nike International Friendlies.

The result puts the Americans in position to win the four-team round-robin if they can defeat Turkey on Sunday.

Maybe more than that, it was the kind of effort that can help the team earn something it covets more than victories: respect.

“I’m pretty happy about the performance from the first second to the end of the game,” said coach Wilmer Cabrera. “We were playing against Brazil and they had one option the whole game – that means a lot for us. We were very secure and organized and when you do that they get frustrated.”

The frustration was conveyed in two Brazil red cards during a 10-minute span of the second half. Brazil defender Luiz Gustavo got the heave ho in the 70^th minute before Josue Oliveiro came in late and low on a slide tackle on Marc Pelosi in the 80^th minute, prompting his ejection.

The U.S. had long slowed Brazil by this point and was making plans to pull off the upset. But despite the two-man advantage, they couldn’t break though.

Dillon Serna, who came off the bench to spell Guido early in the match, had a good shot at a goal and Kellyn Acosta sent a couple crosses into the box that nearly led to the elusive goal.

 But not quite.

“We wanted to win but we couldn’t find the back of the net,” said Serna, who gave the team a nice spark with his speed and fearlessness. “You can’t get them all I guess. “This is the first year (at the Nike Friendlies) that it’s a tournament and we want to win it pretty bad. We have to win the next game.”

Let’s hope the Americans are ready for the next game. After the bumps and bruises they suffered against the Brazilians they’ll definitely need a little R&R.

The game had a testy air from the beginning and the U17 group did well to hold their own.

Mobi Fehr, the center back from Japan who has emerged as a leader, played an aggressive game while dishing out more punishment than he took. Andrew Souders was also solid in the back and goalkeeper Fernando Pina had a fine match, organizing his team and keeping sharp and alert with multiple threats all around him.

Rodriguez, the physically gifted attacker who has emerged as the go-to guy on offense, was a focal point of the Brazil defense. They made a point to be physical with him, and never let him get comfortable. He was hit in the back of the head with a strike but appeared fine after the game.

“It’s going to happen. They’re going to go after him,” Cabrera said. “That’s soccer today. It will happen at every level, but now Mario is a threat for any national team and it’s great for him. Now he needs to be more confident.”

The Brazilians started the match a confident bunch. They made plays that were awe-inspiring, like when Wallace made a run through the midfield so fast that it looked as though he was teleporting through each third of the field.

The collective team speed of the Brazilians was something to behold, in fact, whenever the Americans earned a set piece it only seemed to make them more vulnerable for a counter goal going back the other way.

But ultimately, the Americans turned potential vulnerability into a strength as they moved closer to an international title.

U.S. U17 Men’s National Team Lineup

GK: Fernando Pina
D: Andrew Souders, Kellyn Acosta, Nathan Smith, Mobi Fehr
M: Tarik Salkicic, Matt Dunn, Esteban Rodriguez, Alejandro Guido, Marc Pelosi
F: Mario Rodriguez
Subs: Kendall McIntosh, Joseph Amon, Paul Arriola, Alessandro Mion, Luis Martir, Dillon Serna, Andrew Oliver, Daniel Flores, Nicholas Melo

Brazil Lineup

GK: Guido
D: Wallace, Josue, Luiz Gustavo, Emerson
M: Rodrigo, Adryan, Marlon Bica, Guilherme, Mattheus
F: Lucas Piazon
Subs: Jairo, Leandro, Almir, Lucas, Marcelo, Victor, Nathan