Two nations chasing World Cup glory will do battle today in a match between the United States and Portugal. The 2014 World Cup group-stage match scheduled for 6 p.m. ET will be held at the Arena Amazonia in Manaus and can be live streamed here free. A free Spanish language stream of the match can be found here. Free radio coverage here. Additional TV coverage can be found on ESPN, Univision and ESPN Deportes.
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After being defeated by Germany 4-0, Portugal enters today's match in desperate need of three points. For head coach Paulo Bento, anything but a victory over the United States would be a failure. The team would be better served packing its bags than playing the round closer against Ghana.
"Let's stop talking about the absentees and think about playing," Bento said (via FIFA). "The situation is very simple: Either we win or we start to pack our bags. If it's a draw, it's the same. That's not a scenario the Portuguese are used to.
"When you need to react, I think we're good," he added. I truly believe and the players have to convince themselves too. The merit is all theirs. I only have a little. Now they have to fight to improve their credit. We need a team that is confident in itself and able to control the different aspects of the match."
Will Portugal be able to do just that against the United States? Tell us @SportsWN
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: With an injury to Jozy Altidore, the search for Clint Dempsey's striker partner should end with Chris Wondolowski. The 31-year-old made nine appearances for the San Jose Earthquakes before traveling to Brazil, contributing five goals.
USA's Projected Lineup (4-4-2): Howard; Beasley, Besler, Cameron, Johnson; Beckerman, Jones, Bradley, Zusi; Dempsey, Wondolowski
Portugal's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Patricio; Almeida, Costa, Alves, Pereira; Moutinho, Carvalho, Veloso; Ronaldo, Postiga, Nani
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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