After the win against Ghana, the U.S. men’s soccer team was looking for a blank—but Portugal’s team had other ideas. Both teams fought, but it ended up becoming a draw for both teams as the men tied 2-2 for the final score.
For the United States, the two men that scored were Clint Dempsey and Jermaine Jones. Jones, according to various sources, had to miss the 2010 World Cup Series, sponsored by FIFA, due to an injury to his foot. The score came from the midfielder when the ball was kicked back onto the field to signal the U.S.’s turn. He kicked it from midfield into the goal, and tied the U.S. with Portugal at 1-1. It came a little over an hour of play.
Dempsey’s goal came closer to the end, which put the U.S. on top for a while. The goal came when a combination of team members kicked it and at one point, it was almost out of bounds. Once the ball was kicked across the field, Dempsey managed to find it and kick it in. He scored it towards the hour and a half mark of the game.
Portugal, who has been the world leader in the series, was coming off of a four-game losing streak and was not going to let the U.S. win. The two goals that came from the Portugal team came from Luis Almeida de Cunha. De Cunha, also known as “Nani”, scored the first goal of the game at the five minute mark. His teammate, Andre Almeida, had possession of the ball and kicked it towards the goal; it went off to the side, and de Cunha came in to kick it in.
Ghana’s second goal was scored by Silvestre Varela using his head. The game was decided within the last few seconds of the game when Cristiano Ronaldo kicked the ball down the field and up in the air. It was intended for the goal, but it was a little high. Varela saw it and, with a head bump, put it into the goal. The game became a draw instead of a win for the U.S.
The U.S. will be up against Germany, one of the toughest teams, on Thursday. The U.S. men will need to bring all they have to the game. If the they win, the team will go through to the next series. If Germany wins, they will go on to the next series—but the U.S. would still have a chance to make it, as two teams will advance to the next round of the World Cup Series.
