USMNT to wear Pride-themed jerseys numbers in Orlando for friendly vs. Brazil on eighth anniversary of Pulse Nightclub shooting that left 49 dead

The US Men's National Soccer team will honor the 49 victims of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando with a special pride-themed jersey for Wednesday's friendly with Brazil. The tragedy remains one of the deadliest anti-gay hate crimes in US history.

'Orlando is a city that strives to be inclusive and welcoming to all people,' mayor Buddy Dyer said in a statement ahead of the eighth anniversary of the massacre. 'US Soccer's commitment to celebrating and supporting the LGBTQ+ community aligns perfectly with our collective values. We appreciate the national team's continued engagement with the Orlando community and look forward to welcoming fans to what promises to be an unforgettable event.'

On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire in the gay nightclub, killing 49 and wounding another 53 people. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern US history. Tragically, that number was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas.

A SWAT team ultimately killed Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

The game, which will take place at Orlando's Camping World Stadium, is a key warmup for the US ahead of this month's Copa America. The Americans are coming off a 5-1 loss to Columbia on Saturday.

US captain Tyler Adams will be available in a limited role for friendly, but forward Josh Sargent will miss his second straight match ahead of the Copa America.

Adams, a 25-year-old defensive midfielder, played just one club match from March 2023 until this past March 13 because of a torn right hamstring that needed surgery. After returning to play two matches for Bournemouth in March, the midfielder was limited by back spasms to one game over the rest of the season, an 11-minute appearance on May 11.

'Tyler will be available to play limited minutes and my guess is it's under 45 minutes that he's able to play,' US coach Gregg Berhalter said Tuesday.

Sargent, 24, scored 16 goals in 26 league games with Norwich in England's second-tier League Championship but finished the season while playing with foot swelling. Sargent and Adams both missed Saturday's 5-1 friendly loss to Colombia.

'Josh is progressing well,' Berhalter said. 'He won't take part in this game.'

The US has lost 11 straight games against Brazil and is 1-18 against the Selecao, winning 1-0 in a semifinal match at the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The loss to Colombia was the Americans' first by four goals since 2016.

'The natural tendency would be to say, OK, now it's only about the result. But the reality is it is a friendly game. We are preparing for a tournament,' Berhalter said. 'We have to be brave and we have to continue with our plan. And, obviously, a lot of pressure from the outside after a 5-1 defeat at home but, again, it's about preparing this group for a Copa America.'

At the Copa America, the US opens against Bolivia on June 23 at Arlington, Texas, faces Panama four days later and Uruguay on July 1 at Kansas City, Missouri.

Berhalter deflected a question on whether the US must achieve certain results for him to keep his job for the 2026 World Cup.

'I don't think I'm the right person to answer that question but what I would say is that we do see this as a building block,' he said. 'We see this group as a talented group, a group that's able to do good things.

'I think this group is really talented. I think we can beat top teams, but we have to go show it,' he added. 'We've talked a lot about doing it and for us. It's really about the performance, going out there and having a solid performance that you putting yourself in position to actually go ahead and win.'