In the sizzling hot arena known as the Arena Amazonia in Manaus, Portugal have it all to do against the USA, after having suffered a shock defeat to Germany where they were utterly demolished by “die Mannschaft” 4-0. Nani, for all his new haircut (his squad number shaved into his head with a star) looks good, will be one of many Portugal stars on display this evening that will need to really knuckle under and put in a performance against a USA side that will be licking their lips at the thought of putting Portugal to the sword and effectively ending their World Cup dreams.

Special Offer: BET LIVE on United States vs Portugal + a $200 FREE BET

It  isn’t too far from the realms of reality either, with this tournament throwing up shocks all over the place like Spain being sent home early, England’s shock exit, Ghana managing to hold a rampant Germany to a draw and of course Germany’s 4-0 dismantling of Portugal. And those weren’t the only surprises either. So it  would be understandable if the Portuguese were a little apprehensive of this evening’s game with Ronaldo bravely opting to play for his country  despite a knee problem which will seriously undermine his performance.

Should Ronaldo not make the 90 minutes, coach Paulo Bento will likely call on Nani to switch wings and deputise for him on the right. Nani has had niggles of his own over the past  few years slowing down his progress into the world superstar he has been touted to become, therefore he could be understandably reluctant to try and step into the boots of a world superstar with his country’s hopes resting on his shoulders. Paulo Bento has pledged to stand by him however, saying that only injuries have stopped Nani from becoming a star of equal stature to Ronaldo.

The USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann will look to veteran Dempsey for ideas with Jozy Altidore out of the game suffering from a hamstring strain. He is also wary of Portugal, knowing that they will be hurting after their 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Germany saying: “Portugal are going to come into Manaus pretty angry and [should Ronaldo be fit] I don’t know how he will perform when angry. We simply need to show Portugal how good we are.” Following on from Jozy Altidore’s exclusion from this game due to injury, it is expected that Klinsmann will turn to John Brooks who scored against Ghana from the bench. “You have to deal with injuries,” he said. “It will happen more often in this World Cup. Players have to be ready.”

The Portuguese lineup is pretty intimidating, with Eder, Nani, Ronaldo, Moutinho and Meireles in attack with a back five of Carvalho, Pereira, Alves, Costa and Almeido. Every single one of these players would be welcome in the starting lineup of any top team anywhere and the Americans will need to be careful, disciplined and strong to avoid a thrashing, which the Portuguese will be dying to dish out following an embarrassing start to the tournament.