Bruno Fernandes orchestrated Portugal’s 2-0 victory over the United States on Tuesday, exposing the hosts’ defensive vulnerabilities once again as they prepare for this summer’s World Cup. Fernandes, the Manchester United midfielder, provided two key assists: a clever backheel to Francisco Trincao and a precise corner delivery to an unmarked Joao Felix, who doubled Portugal’s lead.
The US, co-hosting the tournament alongside Mexico and Canada, suffered their second disappointing friendly loss in just three days at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, following a 5-2 defeat to Belgium over the weekend. In what was his final match before finalizing the World Cup squad, coach Mauricio Pochettino’s experiment of deploying Christian Pulisic as a striker failed to yield results. The US star missed several scoring opportunities before being substituted at halftime.
This defeat marked the eighth consecutive loss for the US against European opponents. However, Pochettino remains optimistic that his team can overcome this trend when the World Cup begins. “Always the hope is that the first time will be in the World Cup,” he remarked after the match.
The US started the game with energy, especially in the absence of striker Folarin Balogun. Pulisic had an early shot from a tight angle in the sixth minute, but it was easily blocked. Timothy Weah delivered a dangerous cross to Pulisic midway through the first half, but the forward failed to connect. A better attempt from Pulisic, a 25-yard shot, narrowly missed the target.
Portugal took the lead when Fernandes, set up by an incisive pass from Vitinha, backheeled the ball to Trincao, who calmly finished. Near the end of the first half, Pulisic was involved in a one-on-one duel with Henrique Araujo but was unable to get past the defender and received a booking for a late challenge before being substituted.
Reflecting on his performance, Pulisic said, “We put a lot of pressure on them in the first half of both games and created chances. If I finish a couple of those chances, things would be different.”
In the second half, Pochettino returned to a more conventional formation by introducing striker Patrick Agyemang, who had scored against Belgium. Portugal made seven substitutions but maintained their rhythm, soon doubling their advantage. Fernandes delivered a corner to Felix, who controlled the ball, let it bounce, and volleyed it into the bottom left corner.
Further substitutions from both teams slowed the pace of the match. US goalkeeper Matt Freese made two outstanding saves, one from a powerful long-range shot by Ruben Neves and another from Francisco Conceicao during stoppage time.
The 2026 World Cup will commence on June 11, with the US set to face Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey in the group stage. Despite consecutive friendly defeats, Pochettino emphasized that facing strong opponents like Belgium and Portugal is crucial for his team’s development ahead of the tournament. “We are the USA, competing against Belgium and Portugal, who have several players ranked among the world’s top 100. We don’t have that many,” he explained. “That is why it is good to play against this type of team.”
