Final Whistle: Portugal’s Quality Leaves USMNT Chasing in Atlanta

The United States started brightly and found dangerous moments, but the visitors took control of key stretches and capitalized in a 2-0 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

For a second straight match in Atlanta, the United States had moments that suggested progress, but not enough of them to change the result. Portugal left Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 2-0 win Tuesday night, using its composure, technical quality, and control of the bigger stretches of the match to hand the USMNT another difficult lesson.

Portugal showed their quality on Tuesday night in Atlanta. (photo: Sofia Cupertino for the SDH Network)

In front of an announced crowd of 72,297, Mauricio Pochettino made six changes from the Belgium match, with Matt Freese starting in net. The back line featured Jedi Robinson, Chris Richards, Auston Trusty, and Alex Freeman. In midfield, Weston McKennie, Sebastian Berhalter, Malik Tillman, and Aidan Morris got the start, with Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah up top.

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez made eight changes from the scoreless draw with Mexico over the weekend. Jose Sa started in net. Diogo Dalot, Tomas Araujo, Goncalo Inacio, and Joao Cancelo were in the back. Samu, Bruno Fernandes, and Vitinha were in midfield. Goncalo Ramos, Trincao, and Pedro Neto were up top.

The United States came with pressure early and created chances off turnovers. The first shot of the night forced a Jose Sa save two minutes in. Four minutes later, Weston McKennie was just wide of the near post with another header off a set piece, a recurring theme for the home side as they continued to find chances in the air over these two matches.

Malik Tillman was one of the bright spots for the USMNT on Tuesday night. (photo: Sofia Cupertino for the SDH Network)

Matt Freese was tested the next time down the pitch as Bruno Fernandes forced his first big save of the night on Portugal’s first real opportunity. His counterpart, Jose Sa, known for his habit of coming off his line, nearly cost Portugal in the 17th minute, but the defense scrambled to fill shooting lanes just in time. Tim Weah went high two minutes later with a shot from the wing, and in the 23rd minute the U.S. had not one, but two of its better chances to score.

Weah, on the right wing, sent in a cross that skipped past Pulisic and McKennie. The second chance fell back to Sebastian Berhalter outside the 18, but his long-range shot curled wide of the far post and the match stayed scoreless.

Pulisic had another shot wide of the target in the 36th minute, but the visitors broke through for the opener one minute later. In transition, Bruno Fernandes charged inside the 18 and was steered away from goal. He slipped a backheel to the trailing Trincao, who sent his shot past Matt Freese for the 1-0 lead.

The U.S. had two more chances in the first half, one in the 44th minute and another in stoppage time, when Pulisic got inside the 18 after a long sprint with the ball in the attacking half. He was dispossessed as the half came to a close, and his displeasure over the contact from the Portugal defenders was enough for German referee Sven Jablonski to issue a yellow card.

At the half, the U.S. had more shots than Portugal, 8-3, while Jose Sa had two saves to Matt Freese’s one. Portugal had 38 final-third entries in the first 45 minutes compared to 14 for the United States, while the U.S. had more touches inside the opponent’s 18, 10-6.

Malik Tillman graded out highest for the home side in the first half, completing 10 of 11 passes with two shots, two completed long balls, two progressive carries, and three recoveries defensively.

The question for the second 45 was simple: what would the side look like, and would the subs for the home team answer with the same intensity as the starters in a way that would satisfy their coach?

Jedi Robinson's return to the national team is another big takeaway from these two matches in Atlanta. (photo: Sofia Cupertino for the SDH Network)

Mauricio Pochettino made three subs at the interval as Jedi Robinson, McKennie, and Pulisic exited for Tanner Tessmann, Max Arfsten, and Patrick Agyemang. Roberto Martinez made seven changes for Portugal as Horta, Conceicao, Neves, Joao Felix, Mendes, Silva, and Nunes entered for Costa, Trincao, Vitinha, Neto, Joao Cancelo, Araujo, and Dalot.

The U.S. had its first chance of the second half in the 51st minute, but the eventual shot was an easy pickup for Jose Sa. Portugal tried to take advantage of the U.S. changes six minutes later, but the connections along the edge of the attacking 18 only produced a shot wide of the far post.

Portugal scored off a corner kick with 30 minutes to go. Bruno Fernandes’ initial service deflected off the defender in front of him. The ball floated to Joao Felix at the far edge of the 18, and his half-volley off the bounce went through traffic and caromed in off the far post for the second goal.

Matt Freese came up big for the U.S. in the 64th minute as a blast from Ruben Neves from 30 yards out had plenty behind it, but the shot was parried out for a corner as the match opened up.

Mauricio Pochettino made a handful of subs for the final 20-plus minutes as Scally, Balogun, Aaronson, Reyna, and Roldan entered while the USMNT chased a goal.

A chance went well high of the target with ten minutes to go, and at 90+2 a Portugal shot went just wide of the far post. One point of concern for the U.S. was Auston Trusty having to leave late with an apparent injury. The severity was unknown immediately after the match.

Conclusion:

For long stretches, this looked more competitive than the final scoreline. The United States finished with more total shots on the night, but Portugal controlled too much of the game overall, especially with the ball. The visitors owned the possession battle, created far more final-third entries, and turned their set-piece pressure into the second goal that put the match away.

That is part of what will frustrate Pochettino most. The U.S. showed energy early, forced mistakes, and created enough moments to make the match uncomfortable for Portugal. But once the game settled, Portugal’s quality on the ball and control of territory became harder and harder to disrupt. The U.S. had promising stretches, but not enough sustained control.

So the final lesson from Atlanta will probably sound similar to the one from Belgium, just with a different kind of test. The intensity was there for stretches. The effort was there. But against a team with Portugal’s composure and technical quality, the margin for error is smaller, the punishment is sharper, and the need for cohesion across 90 minutes becomes even more obvious. That is the work still left in front of this group.