The United States and Portugal are playing on the World Cup 2014 schedule on Sunday from the Amazon in Manaus and the Group G game for the US is crucial if they want to advance to the knockout stage and things start up at 6 pm ET on ESPN and has a live stream from WatchESPN as Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Cristiano Ronaldo take the pitch in Brazil.
Portugal is coming in with intense pressure after losing their opening game to Germany and they will be coming in with a man down after Pepe was hit with a second yellow card for a red card and that means he will be out for the game against the Americans. Cristiano Ronaldo now has a lot to live up to after the heroics from Lionel Messi for Argentina and the comparisons will continue until Ronaldo matches his production.
Messi had a goal in the first game for Argentina and then on Saturday he saved the team after a nearly scoreless draw against Iran, putting in a goal in the 90th minute in extra time to secure the 1-0 victory and a spot in the knockout round after getting three points. Portugal is a deep team and they are thought by most in the football community to have superior talent than the United States, but that could play into their opponent, as the US seemingly performs better in World Cup tournaments as an underdog.
The Amazon stadium is one of the most controversial of the World Cup in Brazil 2014 for multiple reasons, including that the temperatures and climate can be very unforgiving along with fact that numerous people died during the construction of the stadium in Manaus. The United States can come in and win this matchup and advance as the first team from Group G and Clint Dempsey comes in with a broken nose and is looking to get things going, while Beto comes in as goalie for the Portuguese.
Portugal made a number of changes alongside Ronaldo and that could be an issue and an opening for the US and they will try and exploit the inexperience of Beto. The team can surprise everyone with a win here and after John Brooks scored the late header for the game against Ghana, this game could turn on another play like that. The field is in very rough conditions and the humidity is very high and so is the temperature, which is up over 80 degrees and the heat could make for some tough play. The USA has a defensive lineup and will be looking to hold back Ronaldo.