Steven Zuber scored after failed clearances by Sergiño Dest and Tim Ream in the 63rd minute, and Switzerland beat the United States 2-1 on Sunday night at St. Gallen to stop the Americans’ nine-game unbeaten streak.
Sebastian Lletget put the 20th-ranked U.S. ahead in the fifth minute, but Ricardo Rodriguez tied the score for the No. 13 Swiss in the 10th minute.
SEBASTIAN LLETGET.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 30, 2021
GOAL FOR THE USMNT ‼️ pic.twitter.com/NVsHkqFmBb
Rodriguez sent a penalty kick wide in the 42nd minute after Dest was called for a hand ball when Silvvan Widmer flicked the ball off his outstretched right arm.
Switzerland went ahead after Dest swung a foot in a clearance attempt and deflected a cross toward Breel Embolo. Ream, who had just entered, tried to clear but deflected the ball back to Embolo. His spinning shot went right to Zuber, who had an open shot to beat goalkeeper Ethan Horvath for his eighth goal.
Its five-game winning streak over, the U.S. will travel to Denver to play Honduras on Thursday in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League, then play Mexico or Costa Rica on Sunday in the championship or third-place game. A friendly against Costa Rica follows at Sandy, Utah, on June 9.
Switzerland opens the European Championship against Wales on June 12.
Top American goalkeeper Zack Steffen missed the match after spending Saturday in Portugal with Manchester City for the Champions League final, won 1-0 by Chelsea and Christian Pulisic. Steffen and Pulisic will report to the U.S. team in Denver.
Midfielder Tyler Adams, bothered by a back injury in recent weeks, did not dress.
Lletget scored his seventh international goal, his fifth in the five last matches. Gio Reyna sent a shot in front of the net, and Nico Elvedi’s attempted clearance was intercepted by Lletget, who exchanged taps with Brendan Aaronson and poked the ball past goalkeeper Yann Sommer from 8 yards.
Rodriguez equalized with his ninth international goal. He took a pass from Widmer on a quick transition and his 20-yard shot deflected off Reggie Cannon and past the outstretched left arm of Horvath, who played his first national team game since March 2019.
Reyna hit the outside of Sommer’s left post from 18 yards in the 52nd minute, and Horvath used his face to block Embolo’s shot two minutes later.
Right back DeAndre Yedlin replaced Cannon in the 81st minute, making his first international appearance since 2019.
