The USA cruised to a 2-1 victory against Ghana in their first game while Portugal was humiliated by Germany as they lost 4-0 as the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo could not do a thing to halt the drubbing as there was no proper supply for the two time Ballon d’or winner. Portugal will hope to turn their fortunes around by gaining a much needed victory against the Americans. Portugal will be playing without left back Fabio Coentrao as he sustained a thigh injury and Pepe as he was suspended after the head-butt incident against Germany. The USA, meanwhile, have a positive environment surrounding them and manager Jurgen Klinsmann will be hoping to convert that positivity into their game play to get a good result against Portugal.
Players to look out for:
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal captain, was unable to put forth a good performance versus Germany but with his country’s World Cup prospects on the line he will be determined to perform better to keep his team’s chances alive but he’s still suffering with a knee injury. It remains to be seen how he copes with his injury and play. Among the USA, Clint Dempsey the goal scorer against Ghana will hope to do the same to secure his country’s chances.
Teams head-to-head:
The two teams have played five games between them and have won two each with the other game ending in a draw.
Probable line-ups:
USA (4-4-1-1): Howard; Johnson, Brooks, Cameron, Beasley; Beckerman, Bradley, Jones, Bedoya; Dempsey; Johansson.
Portugal (4-3-3): Patricio; Pereira, Costa, Alves, Almeida; Veloso, Moutinho, Meireles; Ronaldo, Postiga, Nani.
Prediction: The outcome of the game will depend on how Ronaldo plays, if he performs well Portugal will go through with ease. Portugal have a slight edge over USA.
Final Score Prediction: Portugal 3 – 1 USA.
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