USA vs Portugal – News and Probable Lineups

The USA will look for their first victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as they face Portugal in a friendly match on Tuesday in the capital of Georgia.

Over the weekend, the Americans suffered a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Belgium, while Portugal played to a goalless draw against one of the upcoming World Cup co-hosts, Mexico.

Match overview

An unexpectedly weak second half contributed to the US’s downfall on Saturday, as they conceded four goals in the last 45 minutes.

This was one more second-half goal than they had conceded throughout the entirety of their 2025 campaign, as they had previously gone six internationals without allowing any goals in that frame.

Consequently, Mauricio Pochettino may face the possibility of losing his first two matches in a calendar year for the second year in a row.

Prior to Saturday’s match, the men’s squad had won four consecutive games when scoring first, and their recent loss marked the worst defeat after taking the lead since England came from behind to win 8-1 in 1959.

The US has now lost their last four encounters against European teams when they made the initial breakthrough and last claimed victory against such an opponent back in a 2021 friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-0).

However, they remain unbeaten in their last four fixtures against Portugal, having triumphed at the 1992 US Cup in Chicago with a score of 1-0.

Given that both teams were missing several key players, it was perhaps not surprising to see a lackluster 90-minute encounter between Mexico and Portugal on Saturday.

Roberto Martinez’s squad has struggled to score in two of their last three internationals, both of which were played away from home.

They could potentially go winless in their opening two games of a calendar year for the first time since they ended their first two matches of 2019 in a draw.

Portugal has not tasted victory in their last three matches against non-European teams since 2022, failing to score in two of those contests.

It has been since their third group match at the 2022 World Cup that this side has lost after opening the scoring, with South Korea defeating them 2-1 on that occasion.

Since their 3-2 loss to the USA in the 2002 World Cup, the Portuguese have not lost to any team from the CONCACAF region.

Team News

For the USA, Tyler Adams is ruled out due to an MCL injury, Haji Wright is dealing with a groin complication, Sergino Dest is expected to miss out with a hamstring problem, Roman Celentano has a minor injury, while Matt Turner made his return to the starting XI on Saturday after appearing for the first time since last June.

Weston McKennie and Patrick Agyemang found the back of the net against Belgium, Tim Ream became the 32nd US men’s player to reach 80 caps on Saturday, while Tim Weah is only two appearances away from hitting the 50-mark.

Portugal will be without their all-time leading scorer and cap holder Cristiano Ronaldo, as he and Ruben Dias are sidelined with hamstring issues. Bernardo Silva is also dealing with physical discomfort, Rodrigo Mora has a thigh injury, and Diogo Costa is out due to an adductor problem.

Matheus Fernandes was an unused substitute on Saturday, still in search of his first senior appearance, while Bruno Fernandes has the chance to equal Nuno Gomes’ record for fifth place in all-time goals for Portugal if he finds the net on Tuesday.

USA probable starting XI:

Turner; Weah, Richards, McKenzie, A. Robinson; Tessmann, Roldan; Pulisic, McKennie, Reyna; Pepi

Portugal probable starting XI:

R. Silva; Cancelo, Inacio, Veiga, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha; NETO, B. Fernandes, Felix; Branches

The Americans have historically challenged Portugal, and we anticipate they will demonstrate a stronger defensive performance in what is expected to be an engaging fixture for both sides, despite the poor showings each had over the weekend.