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Bruno Fernandes assists Trincao and Joao Felix as Portugal beat United States 2-0 in friendly, US suffer second poor loss before home World Cup
Portugal beat USA 2-0 (AP)
Bruno Fernandes dismantled the United States defence to give Portugal a 2-0 friendly win on Tuesday over the World Cup co-hosts, who once again failed to impress ahead of this summer’s tournament.
The Manchester United playmaker provided two assists, first setting up Francisco Trincao with a deft backheel, then picking out a completely unmarked Joao Felix on the edge of the box from a corner to double the lead.
For the US, who will co-host the World Cup with Mexico and Canada, it was a second underwhelming defeat in three days at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, following a 5-2 thrashing by Belgium at the weekend.
How Portugal Beat USA 2-0?
Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s experiment of using Christian Pulisic as a false nine despite his recent goal drought fizzled out, as the US talisman spurned a string of first-half chances before being substituted at half-time.
Pochettino was left with more questions than answers from his final game before he names the co-hosts’ finals squad in May.
Looking to prove they could compete with top-tier European opposition after the Belgium loss, the US started brightly on Tuesday.
Given licence to surge forward in the absence of striker Folarin Balogun, Pulisic shot from a narrow angle in the sixth minute, but his tame effort was easily blocked by Vitinha.
A minute later Portugal had their first chance. Fernandes latched onto a through ball and forced a superb save from Matt Freese, restored in goal after rival keeper Matt Turner had replaced him at the weekend.
Timothy Weah delivered a dangerous cross for Pulisic midway through the half, but Pulisic, who has yet to score for AC Milan in 2026 and has not found the net for the US since 2024, completely failed to connect with the ball.
A better Pulisic effort from 25 yards flashed just wide of the post before Fernandes, played through by an incisive pass from Vitinha, cleverly backheeled to Trincao, who calmly slotted home.
In the final moments of the first half, Pulisic found himself in a one-on-one race with Henrique Araujo but could not get past the defender and was booked for lashing out after being dispossessed.
Pulisic was among three half-time changes as Pochettino reverted to a more traditional formation with the introduction of Derby County striker Patrick Agyemang, who had scored at the weekend against Belgium.
The Portuguese made seven substitutions of their own, but it did not disrupt their rhythm. An improved US defence, anchored by the returning Chris Richards, began to tire, and the Europeans soon doubled their lead.
Fernandes whipped in a corner to Felix, who somehow had time to control the ball, let it bounce and loop up for a volley, which he buried in the bottom left corner.
A flurry of further substitutions from both sides slowed the game, though Freese was still forced into two more excellent saves.
He dived to deflect a blistering long-range strike from Ruben Neves and pulled off another superb outstretched save from Francisco Conceicao in stoppage time.
It was an eighth consecutive defeat for the US against European opponents.
The World Cup kicks off in less than three months, on June 11, with the US set to face Paraguay, Australia and Turkey in the group stage.
(With inputs from Agencies)
April 01, 2026, 07:14 IST
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