Team USA won their first World Cup 2014 group match on the schedule and the next game for the United States is against Portugal at the Amazon Stadium in Manaus, Brazil and that means a matchup with Cristiano Ronaldo and that game is at 6 pm ET and airs on TV from ESPN with a live stream from the WatchESPN website next Sunday, June 22 of Jurgen Klinsmann, Clint Dempsey and the USMNT.
Dempsey started the World Cup off with a bang against Ghana, scoring less than a minute into the game on a great play in the box after getting a pass and that gave team USA the lead early. Dempsey energized the team and they sure needed it, as Jozy Altidore was injured twenty minutes in and he could be out for the rest of the group stage after pulling up with a hamstring. The team had a couple of injuries and they played defensive most of the way, but after the 80th minute Ghana tied it up and for a moment it appeared the US would be getting just one point and not three after holding the lead for so long.
The US got a great set up on the outside with a corner kick that was started by Graham Zusi and it was put in by John Brooks after he was brought in as a sub and that gave the United States the victory. There were five minutes of injury times added and that gave Ghana a last shot, but they couldn't get much past Tim Howard and now the US moves to their next matchup. Dempsey took a leg to the face and had a nose injury, while Altidore could be gone for the rest of the group stage and the World Cup and that is a major hit for Klinsmann and now the US team will have to rally if he misses out.
The United States opened with Ghana in Natal and the weather for the match was very hot and humid and that could have been a reason for the cramps and muscles pulling up and now the US team will have to adapt. The next game comes on June 22 in Manaus against Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo and the US has to try and find a way to get some points out of that game and they could possibly catch the team on a downward spiral with Pepe getting a card and the team losing 4-0 to Germany after a powerful game from Thomas Muller. The team finishes with that anticipated matchup against Germany for Klinsmann and that will be a must-see for the TV schedule at the Cup.