The World Cup group stages continue, and this evening sees the USA take on Portugal. The game promises to be one of the best of today’s fixtures, and is available for you to follow live online and on radio.
The match kicks off at 6 p.m ET, and is being streamed live online on by the BBC and ESPN (subscription required). If you’d rather listen than watch you can tune-in via the web and radio.
In the US you can tune-in to your local ESPN Affiliate, or you can get live commentary online from the BBC and talksport.com.
The US team are riding high after an unexpected 2-1 victory over Ghana in their first match, and they’ll be looking to solidify their position in group G with another win.
In news that is sure to go some way towards meeting that objective, Clint Dempsey has been certified fit to play.
Clint scored one of the fastest goals in World Cup history when he found the net after just 30 seconds in the game against Gahna, but suffered a broken nose later in the match.
According to a tweet by ESPN’s Jerremy Schaap, Dempsey has stated he will probably not wear a mask for the upcoming game.
The decision seems something of a gamble – wearing a mask might cause some distraction, but any further damage might put him out of the tournament.
Portugal will be looking to give a better performance than their last group match, which saw them receive a 4-0 drumming at the hands of Germany.
If the team are going to turn their fortunes around, they are going to have to do it with a severely depleted line up.
Team captain Cristiano Ronaldo has been struggling with a knee injury, and rumors suggest that he is still not fit. So far there has been no comment from the team regarding his participation today.
We do know for certain however that left-back Fabio Coentrao is definitely out, after sustaining a thigh injury. To make things worse, center-back Pepe is suspended after an ill-advised headbutt on Thomas Muller.
This is a match that a US team on top form is capable of winning, but they’ll have to give their all to contain a Portuguese squad fighting to save their World Cup campaign. I think it’ll be a close match, and my personal prediction is a 1-1 draw.
What do you think? Is the US finally ready to make a serious World Cup impression?
Join the discussion below and let us know.
Have A Question? Ask Jessica!
-
Jessica: Hi, I'm Jessica, the Consumer Press AI, can I help you with a consumer question?
