The U.S. men’s national team ended its roster evaluation phase before the World Cup with a 2-0 friendly loss to Portugal in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Francisco Trincao put the Portuguese, playing a second straight match without Cristiano Ronaldo due to a minor muscle injury, ahead in the 37th minute and Joao Felix doubled the count in the 59th with Bruno Fernandes assisting both.
The U.S. will not take the field again before coach Mauricio Pochettino announces the roster on May 26. Five days later, the Americans play Senegal in Charlotte before the final tune-up June 6 vs. Germany in Chicago.
Group D play for the U.S. begins June 12 vs. Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif.
The U.S. had the better of the chances before the breakthrough by Portugal when pressure forced a giveaway in the hosts’ side of the field. Fernandes dribbled deep into the box in the right side, drawing the attention of several defenders.
He then sent a back-heel to an unmarked Trincao for his left-footed shot to the far corner past goalkeeper Matt Freese.
To the Americans’ credit, they quickly regrouped and had near-goal attempts by Antonee Robinson in the 41st and Malik Tillman in the 44th, but the U.S. was not sharp enough in front of the net.
The USMNT ended up with a 12-11 shot advantage, but Portugal had five of the eight on target.
Felix scored off a corner kick by Fernandes. Felix knocked the ball down with his first touch just outside the box then sent a volley to the lower left corner.
The U.S. was coming off a 5-2 pasting by Belgium on Saturday while Portugal was playing to a scoreless tie against Mexico, but Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said Monday he draws no conclusions from matches this month because teams had not been together since November and it’s a poor mix of players trying to make their national teams and others looking to stay healthy for the league clubs.
He went as far to say March marches are “worthless.”
Nonetheless, U.S. defender Chris Richards played Tuesday after missing the Belgium match with a knee injury, wearing the captain’s armband for the third time.
–Field Level Media
