Fresh off their dramatic and emotional 2-1 victory over Ghana, the United States Men’s National Team will try to take advantage of Germany and Ghana’s 2-2 draw, when they face off against Portugal in the Amazon jungle on Sunday.
A win against the best player in the world and his Portugal team, and the United States will find themselves in first place in Group D’s “Group of Death”, and a guaranteed seat at the table for the knockout round.
The U.S. will look to roll over the momentum from John Brooks’ game winning header in the 86th minute against Ghana. In that match, with the opening minute in which Clint Dempsey scored the fastest goal in U.S. World Cup history notwithstanding, Ghana dominated the United States. During the second half the USMNT struggled as Ghana controlled the possession and the pace while launching multiple shots on goal, including the equalizer in the 82nd minute.
In that match, Ghana was fast, physical and strong. The U.S. had difficulty dealing with their counter attack and crosses into the box. If not for some brilliant saves by U.S. goalkeeper, Tim Howard, the U.S. could have easily found themselves at the wrong end of a multiple goal defeat.
Thankfully, Portugal poses different problems for the United States on Sunday. For starters, the Portuguese defense is not as big and physical as Ghana was. Also, Portugal will be without star defensemen, Pepe (suspension) and Fabio Coentrâo who was injured in the match vs. Germany. This should allow the U.S. more space to attack in the Portuguese zone and more possession time. Expect to see more offensive chances for the U.S. in this game.
The United States will be without star striker, Jozy Altidore who strained his hamstring in the first half against Ghana. U.S. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann will have multiple options to replace him including Aron Johannsson whom he substituted for Altidore against Ghana. Johannsson struggled with the physicality of Ghana in that game, but might find more space and comfort against Portugal.
Klinsman could also opt for MLS forward, Chris Wondolowski, who isn’t as strong, athletic or fast as Altidore, but is creative and tenacious when around the net. If neither of those two options work for Klinsmann, he could also choose to push Dempsey to the top alone, and add another midfielder like Graham Zusi whose corner kick to John Brooks for the game winning goal on a set piece against Ghana was pure perfection. This latter strategy would be solely an attempt to shut down the passing lanes to the reigning Player of the Year winner, Cristiano Ronaldo. By adding a midfielder to cut off Raul Meireles, Ronaldo would get fewer touches in space and therefore fewer opportunities to score.
Portugal is coming off an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Germany in which Germany did not need to add an extra midfielder in order to shut down Ronaldo. Ronaldo was unable to find the back of the net that match, but was still able to get off 7 shots, 5 of them on target. If the United States is to win on Sunday, Ronaldo cannot attempt that many shots again.
Rumors out of the Portugal camp before the World Cup, was that Ronaldo was unfit to play with knee tendinitis. He has been seen wearing a knee brace in training this week, and has been given days off by Portugal coach, Paulo Bento recently. Make no mistake about it though, Ronaldo will be fully fit and dangerous come Sunday.
“There’s a lot of admiration for him and for the players who play at big clubs and in the Champions League. But this is the moment to prove yourself, to step up, play those guys and put them in place. We want to put Cristiano in place.” proclaimed Klinsmann.
Goalkeeper Tim Howard, who played alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United in 2003, knows firsthand how great Ronaldo is:
"He’s the single hardest working player I’ve ever been around. On and off the field, his work ethic is incredible. He’s strong, he’s a fast runner, the best in the world when running with the ball, good in the air, good with both feet, the list goes on and on, this is why he's the best in the world. "We want to bottle him up, it has not been done for four or five years but we’ll see what we can do. We have a gameplan and if we put that in place we’ll give ourselves a good chance. "If we pay too much attention to Ronaldo someone else will beat us. We’ve got to be diligent, we have to be aware of their danger men. We have a gameplan in place and now we have to go and execute it."
The final deciding factor in the match tomorrow might not be wearing a jersey at all. Manaus is located in the heart of the Amazon jungle, and is one of the hottest and most humid places on earth. FIFA announced on Friday that mandatory water breaks would be implemented into the game to prevent cramping and dehydration. Humidity is expected to reach 90 percent at times during the match with an 80 percent chance of rain at kick off.
The United States is unfazed however by the weather, “"I think we are very well prepared for this climate here in Manaus," said Coach Klinsmann "It's similar to climates in CONCACAF or Central America, or even if you go to Florida and play in Miami. It's similar to what we experience here. I think we are very well prepared for tomorrow."
Indeed, the United State’s training and experience has them more suited to deal with the conditions on the pitch on Sunday than Portugal and should use this to their advantage.
Expect an exciting match Sunday that will have American audiences on the edge of their seats. ESPN’s Jermey Schaap presented the match best when he said, “America will have two wonders of the world to look forward to seeing on Sunday; the mighty Amazon, and Cristiano Ronaldo.”
The game is set to kick off at 6:00PM EST at the Arena Amazona in Manaus, Amazonas. It can be seen on ESPN and in Spanish on Univision. If you want to live stream the match, simply go to WatchESPN here and here for a live stream in Spanish.
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