Brooks came on for Matt Besler at halftime and scored off a header in the 86th minute of USA's 2-1 win over Ghana in their opening World Cup match Monday.

Brooks took a Graham Zusi corner and powered it into the back of the net just four minutes after Ghana tied the match at 1-1. The goal marked the first scored by a substitute in US World Cup history, and Brooks' appearance officially cap-tied him to the US, as he had not yet played a match for the United States in an international competition. Besler was removed for precautionary reasons due to a hamstring injury, and if he is limited throughout the week, Brooks could get the start against Portugal on Sunday.