Basically, this group is still wide-open for everyone, and a loss would be pretty devastating for either team. In Portugal's case, it would eliminate them entirely. Both teams have some injury issues to deal with. Jozy Altidore misses out for the United States with a hamstring strain, while Clint Dempsey will play despite a broken nose perhaps with a face mask. After a dramatic win against Ghana , the US could all but guarantee themselves a spot in the knockout round with another victory. Strangely enough, their best chance to get it might be against a Portugal team that, despite having arguably the best player in the world on their roster, lost 4-0 to Germany in their opening game.
Portugal are without Fabio Coentrao due to injury, while Pepe is suspended. Hugo Almeida hasn't been ruled out for sure, but isn't expected to start. Goalkeeper Rui Patricio also got hurt in the opener, but is expected to start.Portugal’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been nursing a knee injury since the beginning of June, and reports surfaced earlier this week that his
surgeon told him that continuing to play could put his career in danger. Portugal’s players insist that he is 100 percent but that seems unlikely.
Both team last met in the 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup with USA running out as 3-2 winners. Much has changed in both teams since then and its a very unpredictable game but at least I expect both teams to hit the net at least once in this critical encounter.
Verdict: Both teams to score
No comments:
Post a Comment