This is an opinion column.

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Chris Richards spoke up and the United States Men’s National Team responded with one of its most encouraging results in years.

Richards is the Birmingham-area soccer player who starts at center-back for the USMNT and at left-back for Crystal Palace in the Premier League. I’ve written about the rise of his career over the past few years. Richards is the best Alabama-born soccer player since Catherine Reddick Whitehill of Briarwood Christian.

Richards brings leadership and a deep love of country to the US national team. He’s proud of being from Alabama and representing Alabama on the international stage. The Hoover native showcased his steady confidence on Wednesday night in the USMNT’s final international tune-up before the summer’s big international soccer tournament, Copa America.

With Richards and fellow Premier League center-back Tim Ream anchoring the defense, Team USA tied Brazil 1-1 in an electric, evenly played match that featured a flurry of wide-open attacks by both teams.

It’s the first time in the history of American soccer for the USMNT to draw even with Brazil. The all-time record between the US and Brazil now stands at 1-18-1. That the encouraging result for Team USA came directly after an embarrassing 5-1 loss against Colombia adds an extra layer of intrigue to Copa America.

No one knows what to make of this USMNT. The talent is there but the fight and passion have been inconsistent. Hopefully that’s just a sign of the team’s relatively young age.

The average age of the team’s starting lineup against Brazil was 25 years and 151 days. According to US Soccer, that’s the second youngest US team to ever face Brazil.

The USMNT remains a step behind soccer’s international powerhouses, but the gap in skill is closing. Ten of the 11 US starters against Brazil play on a club team competing in one of the top five leagues in Europe. It’s time for the the USMNT to grow up. Copa America will be the most significant test for the young Americans until the World Cup in two years. One of the keys for the Americans at this point in the team’s development is to follow the example being set by Alabama’s Richards.

Richards is only 24 but his maturity is already one of the team’s best assets. Leading into Brazil, Richards challenged his teammates to match the energy of their opponents.

“The one thing we really need to change is our mentality,” Richards said.

The attitude adjustment was evident in the first five minutes of the match when American midfielder Yunas Musah slammed a near goal off the Brazilian crossbar.

The Brazilians took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute with a goal from international sensation Rodrygo, but a perfect free kick by Christian Pulisic tied the game nine minutes later. Both teams had chances throughout the second half but US goalkeeper Matt Turner and Brazil’s Alisson Becker made a series of saves to keep the score level.

One of the biggest differences between the US loss against Colombia and the draw with Brazil was the combined effort of 36-year-old Ream and Richards in defense. A veteran presence, Ream played left center-back for the USMNT alongside Richards. It’s a good balance. The ability for the US defense to maintain possession out of the back against constant Brazil pressure late in a game was a positive sign heading into Copa America.

Outside of the World Cup, Copa America is arguably the most competitive international tournament on the planet. It’s South America’s big showcase of soccer and this summer it’s being played in the United States. The group stage for Copa America begins on June 20 throughout the country and the tournament’s championship match is on July 14 in Miami.

The US is in Group C along with Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay. The Americans open Copa America on June 23 against Bolivia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. From there, the US travels to Atlanta for a group-stage test against fellow CONCACAF team Panama on June 27. The final group stage for the Americans is against Uruguay on July 1 in Kansas City.

Richards is expected to start in every group-stage match for the U.S. He missed the 2022 World Cup due to a late injury, which makes Copa America the biggest international tournament of his career. Last year, Richards’ goal in the Premier League’s offseason was to break into the starting lineup for club team Crystal Palace. He started the final six matches for Palace going into this summer’s international window with Palace going 5-0-1 in those games.

Richards is in the best form of his young career and he’s leading the USMNT on the field and in the locker room. It’s more proof that Alabama can and will play an important role in the future of US Soccer.

BE HEARD

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”