2026 USMNT Friendly: Scouting Portugal

LISBON, PORTUGAL - JANUARY 20: Goncalo Ramos of Paris Saint-Germain in action during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD7 match between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Paris Saint-Germain at Estadio Jose Alvalade on January 20, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images) | Getty Images After all of the waiting, the 2026 World Cup is a mere few months away, with the United States Men’s National Team having precious little opportunity to make final adjustments to the squad. Any potentially earth-shattering roster additions or tactical shifts are unlikely, but the tests could pay dividends come June.

The current international window opened with an ugly defeat against Belgium (2-5), and Portugal should provide another stern challenge. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia — a 42,500-seat multi-purpose venue with a newly installed hybrid blue-rye grass surface — is set to host again. This is the eighth all-time meeting between the two programs, with the series split at 2-2-3 and the most recent result being a November 2017 friendly that ended in a draw (1-1).

Ranked sixth internationally by FIFA, Portugal claimed the 2025 UEFA Nations League with an aggregate victory over Denmark (5-3 [0-1, 5-2]), followed by wins over Germany (2-1) and Spain (2-2 [5-3]), the latter in a shootout. Seleção das Quinas (Selection of the Shields) reached the World Cup by finishing atop UEFA’s qualifying Group F with a 4-1-1 record, doubling up against Armenia (5-0, 9-1), notching a win and a draw with Hungary (3-2, 2-2), and splitting results with the Republic of Ireland (1-0, 0-2). The window opened with a scoreless draw against Mexico.

Roberto Martínez was appointed to the manager position in January of 2023, taking over for Fernando Santos, who had previously held the role for eight years. The 52-year-old Spaniard has experience at Swansea City, Wigan Athletic, Everton, and Belgium; De Rode Duivels (The Red Devils) achieved a top FIFA ranking and third place at the 2018 World Cup, although the “golden generation” was considered squandered without achieving silverware. He is developing into something of a master of qualifying, going long stretches of matches unbeaten and reaching the final tournament in 2018, 2022, and 2026.