The Two Nations Have a Storied History, Including Two World Cup Matches
The United States and Portugal have met just seven times in their history, producing a series full of memorable moments—none more dramatic than their two World Cup encounters.
The early meetings were one-sided affairs. Portugal won the first matchup 1-0 in Setúbal in September 1978, and followed that with a 1-0 victory in Oporto in December 1990. A 1-1 draw in Lisbon in 1980, with Ricky Davis getting the American goal, was sandwiched between those defeats. The U.S. finally broke through on June 3, 1992, when Roy Wegerle's lone strike secured a 1-0 victory at Soldier Field in Chicago in the U.S. Cup, which was the Americans' first-ever win over Portugal.
The most celebrated chapter came at the 2002 World Cup in Suwon, South Korea. John O'Brien opened the scoring in just the fourth minute, Landon Donovan's cross deflected in off Jorge Costa for the second, and Brian McBride's diving header from a Tony Sanneh cross made it 3-0 at halftime. Portugal rallied with two goals, one from Beto and an unfortunate Jeff Agoos own goal, but the U.S. held on for a stunning 3-2 victory, one of the greatest results in program history.
Twelve years later, in the Amazon heat of Manaus, the two sides produced another thriller. Nani struck early, Jermaine Jones equalized with a thunderbolt from distance, and Clint Dempsey put the U.S. ahead in the 81st minute—only for Cristiano Ronaldo to cross for Silvestre Varela to head home in stoppage time, forcing a gut-wrenching 2-2 draw in the 2014 World Cup group stage.
The most recent meeting was in November 2017, a 1-1 friendly notable for several American debuts, including a young Weston McKennie, who opened the scoring in the 21st minute. Tuesday marks just the eighth chapter of this rivalry.
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