World Cup: U.S. focuses on stopping Portugal's Ronaldo
SAO PAULO – Just after he was cut from the U.S. roster last month, right back Brad Evans posted this snarky tweet: "You got off easy this time @Cristiano."
The Americans are confident their defensive depth can stop the two-time world player of the year when they play Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal on Sunday night in a World Cup match in the Amazon rain forest capital of Manaus.
"He's a complete player," midfielder Michael Bradley said Friday. "When you look at the game today, there's such a premium on the physical aspect of the game — speed, strength, endurance — and he is a guy who checks all those boxes. And then when you talk about his technical ability — the way he shoots with his right foot, his left foot, how good in the air he is — he's somebody who can make the difference at any moment."
Coming off a 2-1 opening win over Ghana, the U.S. might clinch advancement with a win and would put itself in excellent position with a tie.
Right back Fabian Johnson, left back DaMarcus Beasley and central defenders Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler figure to fixate on Ronaldo. Bradley, Kyle Beckerman and Jermaine Jones will assist in marking him from the midfield.
The 29-year-old forward with the perpetually gelled hair has topped 50 goals in four straight seasons with Real Madrid. He was voted FIFA player of the year in 2008, then in January ended Lionel Messi's streak of four consecutive awards.
For six months, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann has talked about how his first priority was the U.S. opener against Ghana and his second was to "go to beautiful Manaus and expect Mr. Ronaldo." Klinsmann, by the way, didn't even have Ronaldo on his player of the year ballot; he voted Franck Ribery first, followed by Gareth Bale and Radamel Falcao.
Ronaldo has been bothered by tendinitis in his left knee for two months, and he wore a brace Friday during Portugal's training session in Campinas.
"At the moment we certainly expect that he is going to play," Bradley said. "A game of this magnitude, of this importance for both teams, you'd always expect that the best players are going to find any way to be on the field."
The U.S. has experience against top players, keeping Argentina's Messi scoreless at the 2007 Copa America and in exhibitions in 2008 and 2011. England's Wayne Rooney was held without a goal in the Americans' 2010 World Cup opener.
"We have a lot of respect for Cristiano. He's a great player. But I think you have to respect the whole team of Portugal," Jones said. "When we stick together like a team and fight like we did it against Ghana, then I think we have chances to win this game."
Goalkeeper Tim Howard says it has to be a group effort.
"Body language, communication," he said, "and just being able to be in the right spots."
The U.S. says Besler's sore right hamstring, which forced him from the opener at halftime, is fine and he will be able to play Sunday. He did early work on the field Friday before the others.
Nestor Pitana of Argentina was selected Friday by FIFA as the referee. He worked Russia's 1-1 tie against South Korea.
Portugal's 4-0 loss to Germany cost it three starters: Right back Fabio Coentrao and forward Hugo Almeida got hurt, and central defender Pepe was ejected.
"There's two ways to look at it," Bradley said. "One is that they lost 4-0, played 60 minutes down a guy, a few injuries. And it would be easy to look and say this is a good time to play them. But the other side says that it is … in some ways a desperate team that is playing for their lives."
Friday's games:
Costa Rica 1, Italy 0: Had Costa Rica been less resilient, it might still be stewing over referee Enrique Osses' refusal to award a penalty when explosive striker Joel Campbell was taken down in the area. Instead, the Ticos mounted another raid on Italy's defense, scoring a minute later when Bryan Ruiz headed home Junior Diaz's long, curling cross from the left wing.
Playing confidently and attacking relentlessly, Costa Rica seized control of Group D and clinched a place in the knockout round of the World Cup with a 1-0 win Friday over four-time champion Italy in Recife, Brazil. The triumph might have been more lopsided if not for Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who made several diving saves.
The Costa Ricans were supposedly the weakest team in a group with former World Cup champions Italy, Uruguay and England. But they're in the second round for the first time since 1990.
"Today is a very special moment for us," Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto said. "We knew that today we could make history for Costa Rica, and we've been able to do so. I've told my team we have to keep calm. We're here and we want to stay. It's not going to be easy. A World Cup is never easy."
The gravity of the victory for the small Central American nation was evident: Nearly an hour after the match, when Ruiz accepted the player of the match award, Costa Rican fans could be heard still celebrating just outside the stadium. Players began to receive photos on their smartphones of celebrating fans in the streets in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose, and beyond.
Costa Rica entered the match exuding confidence after opening with a surprising 3-1 comeback win over Uruguay, a semifinalist in 2010. But Uruguay striker Luis Suarez missed that game, and there were questions about how Costa Rica would handle one of the traditional powers at full strength. Yet Costa Rica matched Italy in shots with 10 and shots on goal with six, despite having only 42 percent of possession.
France 5, Switzerland 2: At Salvador, forwards Olivier Giroud and Karim Benzema each scored one goal and created another as France took control of Group E with six points. Giroud and Blasie Matuidi scored a minute apart and Mathieu Valbuena added another to give France a 3-0 halftime lead. Benzema made up for a first-half penalty miss with a poacher's finish in the 67th, then turned provider for Moussa Sissoko, who made it 5-0 with a neat side-footed effort in the 73rd. Switzerland got consolation goals from Blerim Dzemaili and Granit Xhaka.
In the sixth minute, center half Steve Von Bergen came off with blood pouring from under his left eye after Giroud kicked him in the face. Von Bergen was replaced by Philippe Senderos, and Switzerland's makeshift defense could not cope with the ferocious pace of France's breaks from midfield and the slick movement of its interchanging forward line.
Ecuador 2, Honduras 1: At Curitiba, forward Enner Valencia scored twice in a comeback victory that moved Ecuador into second place in Group E with a game remaining against France. Carlo Costly scored in the 31st minute, giving Honduras its first World Cup goal in 32 years. But Valencia equalized three minutes later, tapping in with his left foot from close range after Brayan Beckeles failed to clear a cross from the right. Valencia's winner came in the 65th minute when he outjumped the defense to head home a left-sided free kick from Walter Ayovi.
Water breaks: A Brazilian court Friday ordered FIFA to introduce mandatory water breaks for players near the 30th minute of each half in World Cup matches played when temperatures reach 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature index, which considers factors such as time of day, cloud cover, wind, humidity and location.