Riding goals from Sebastian Berhalter, Julian Hall, Chris Richards and 17-year-old newcomer Mathis Albert, the US men’s national team beat 49th-ranked Chile in St Louis on Tuesday night 4-2. The US were shaky at times but used a blend of regulars and newcomers to get the job done, with Albert becoming the youngest-ever goalscorer for the US men with his insurance goal in stoppage time, and Hall becoming the youngest US men’s player to score in each of his first two games.

The game ended with an example of the collective identity a young US group has managed to forge in their first World Cup window, minus major figures like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Folarin Balogun. When goalkeeper Brian Schwake fell on the ball as stoppage time ticked over, Chile forward Leandro Hernández left a kick in on the Nashville SC goalkeeper. Chris Richards took exception, confronting Hernández, setting off a group confrontation that cleared both benches and saw US manager Mauricio Pochettino jump in to the middle of the fray to try and calm things down.

“We have each other’s back. We have 26 guys that are ready to be there at any moment,” Sebastian Berhalter told TNT afterward. “When you do stuff like that, there’s gonna be repercussions.”

The 49th-ranked Chileans are far removed from their glory days, the stretch of years in the 2010s that saw them win back-to-back Copa Américas and advance to the knockout rounds of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Interim manager Nicolás Córdova has started the process of leading the Chileans through a generational turnover as they build towards 2030.

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On Tuesday, Córdova was without the services of Chilean captain Gabriel Suazo, one of a pair of Chile players red carded in their brutally physical 1-0 loss to Canada on the weekend. Still, they proved a tougher challenge for the US than Peru, whom the US beat 4-1 in the first match of the window three days earlier.

Berhalter’s goal came 37 minutes in and was well worked. Sergiño Dest’s combination play at the near sideline pulled several defenders out of position; Hall smartly stepped over Dest’s ensuing cross as it traversed the area and found the Middlesbrough midfielder 10 yards from goal at the far side of the area. Berhalter – who was excellent throughout the evening and assisted on the match-winner from a corner kick – drove his effort low and into the side netting at the near post.

“He is a player that the commitment, the energy, everything he does is for the badge, for the national team, for the teammates,” Pochettino said. “He is a very good role model player for the players that arrive the first time or maybe are watching from home, in the way we expect the players to behave. The quality he has - the delivery on set pieces, scoring goals, can play from the left, from the right, box to box or a holding midfielder, or like a number 10 from different positions. Always he’s happy to do anything for the national team. These things are priceless. To have a player like him is priceless.”