World Cup Results: Portugal Stuns United States On Late Goal, Ties 2-2

The United States nearly pulled off one of the early upsets of the 2014 World Cup, but with one minute remaining Portugal broke through to score the game-tying goal and end the match 2-2.

Portugal took an early lead, seizing on a defensive blunder just five minutes into the game to find the back of the net.

The United States kept the pressure on the Portuguese squad at the start of the second half, and broke through with a goal at the 64-minute mark by Jermaine Jones.

Clint Dempsey then gave the United States the lead in the 81st minute, crashing toward the net and taking a rebound off his chest to score what would have been the game-winning goal.

It seemed as if the United States would notch the unlikely upset, but Portugal pulled through with just one minute remaining in extra time, tying the score.

The upset would have been more monumental given that Portugal’s star, Cristiano Ronaldo, decided to defy doctor’s advice and play. The Real Madrid star has been suffering from a chronically injured ankle, and had been advised that if he played he would risk a career-ending injury if he played.

It was actually Ronaldo who led to the game-tying goal. After the United States scored, he showed why he is the best player in the world, keeping up a relentless attack that led to a drive down the left side of the field and a centering pass to Silvestre Varela, who headed in the goal.

The United States can still advance to the next round of the 2014 World Cup. The most straightforward scenario would be either a win or draw against Germany, but Team USA can also pull through with a loss if the Portugal-Ghana match ends in a draw or if they have the tiebreaker with the winner of the Ghana-Portugal match.

A loss would be more complicated, ESPN noted:

“If the United States loses, Ghana would qualify instead if either game is decided by a margin of two goals or more. If the U.S. loses by one goal, Ghana would need to win by two goals or be involved in a higher-scoring one-goal win. For instance, a 1-0 scoreline in both games would put the United States through on head-to-head. So, if the U.S. loses 1-0, then Ghana must win 2-1 to qualify on goals scored.”

Team USA will now take on Germany on Thursday at noon.