The United States dropped its second match in a row Tuesday, losing 2-0 to Portugal in a friendly at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to conclude its March international window.
It was the eighth consecutive defeat for the U.S. against European competition.
Francisco Trincão opened the scoring in the first half and João Félix added a goal in the second half with a sweet volley from the top of the penalty area from a set play.
The Americans were coming off a 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Belgium on Saturday in their final matches before Mauricio Pochettino names his World Cup squad on May 26.
The U.S. coach made six changes to the lineup that lost to Belgium, with Christian Pulisic starting in a central role at the top of Pochettino’s formation. The tactical shift did not help Pulisic break out of his scoring slump, as he was substituted at halftime in his eighth straight game for the U.S. without a goal. He also hasn’t scored for club team AC Milan since Dec. 28.
Portugal players celebrate after scoring a goal against the United States in a friendly in Atlanta.
Portugal was playing without two of its top stars in Cristiano Ronaldo, who is injured, and Bernardo Silva, who was not part of the team for the March window.
But Roberto Martinez’s team still had plenty of talent all over the field and frustrated the U.S. throughout. Outside of a few chances from distance, the U.S. didn’t have too many clear-cut looks.
Matthew Freese played in goal for the U.S. ahead of Matt Turner, who started against Belgium, and made a number of clutch saves to keep the final score from being more lopsided than it was.
Pochettino has two more warmup games with the U.S. before the start of the World Cup — against Senegal on May 31 and Germany on June 6.
The U.S. begins Group D play at the World Cup on June 12 against Paraguay in Inglewood, California, before playing Australia and Türkiye in its quest to reach the knockout rounds.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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