Preview: USA vs Portugal - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking their first-ever triumph at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the USA will meet Portugal in a friendly on Tuesday in the Georgia capital.

This past weekend, the Yanks were beaten 5-2 by Belgium, while Portugal drew 0-0 with one of the upcoming World Cup co-hosts Mexico.

Match preview

An uncharacteristically poor second half did the US in on Saturday, with the World Cup co-hosts conceding four times in the final 45 minutes.

That was one more second-half goal than they had given up in the entire 2025 campaign, failing to concede in their previous six internationals after the interval before Saturday.

As a result, Mauricio Pochettino could lose his first two games of a calendar year for a second successive occasion.

Before Saturday, the men’s team had won four matches in a row when netting first, while their defeat this past weekend was their worst one after drawing first blood since England came back to hammer them 8-1 in 1959.

The Yanks have gone on to lose their last four matches versus European opposition when netting the opening goal and have not beaten a side from that continent since a 2021 friendly versus Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-0).

At the same time, they have not lost any of their previous four meetings against Portugal, defeating them at the 1992 US Cup in Chicago 1-0.

In a game featuring two teams missing plenty of key starters, perhaps it was predictable to witness a dull 90-minute affair between Mexico and Portugal on Saturday.

Roberto Martinez has seen his side fail to find the back of the net in two of their previous three internationals, both of which were away from home.

They could go without a win in their first two games to begin a calendar year for the first time since drawing their opening two outings of 2019.

Portugal are winless in their last three matches against teams outside Europe, dating back to 2022, and have failed to score in two of those instances.

Not since their third group fixture at the 2022 World Cup have we seen this team lose a game after scoring the opening goal, with South Korea beating them 2-1 on that occasion.

Since a 3-2 defeat to the USA at the 2002 World Cup, Lusos have not lost a single game against a team from the CONCACAF region.

USA International Friendlies form:

Portugal International Friendlies form:

Portugal form (all competitions):

Team News

On the US side, Tyler Adams is out with an MCL problem, Haji Wright has a sore groin, Sergino Dest will be sidelined due to a hamstring issue.

Roman Celentano has a knock, while Matt Turner made his first appearance on Saturday between the sticks since last June.

Weston McKennie and Patrick Agyemang scored for them against Belgium, Tim Ream became the 32nd US men’s player to reach 80 caps on Saturday, while Tim Weah is two shy of 50.

Portugal are without record goalscorer and cap holder Cristiano Ronaldo as he and Ruben Dias are out with hamstring strains and Bernardo Silva has physical discomfort.

Rodrigo Mora is dealing with a thigh injury and Diogo Costa will be sidelined because of an adductor problem, while Matheus Fernandes is still seeking his first senior appearance.

Bruno Fernandes can draw even with Nuno Gomes for fifth in all-time goals for Portugal should he score on Tuesday.

USA possible starting lineup:

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

Portugal possible starting lineup:

R. Silva; Cancelo, Inacio, Veiga, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha; Neto, B. Fernandes, Felix; Ramos

We say: USA 1-1 Portugal

The Yanks tend to play Portugal tough, and we expect them to be a lot stronger defensively in what promises to be a spirited affair for both teams despite a rough outing for each over the weekend.

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