The U.S. was clinging to a one-goal lead over Ghana and getting thoroughly outplayed, with striker Jozy Altidore potentially lost for the World Cup after a first-half injury.
Without three points, all optimism built over the past four years could have instantly evaporated.
Then, in a span of less than five minutes, the U.S. bounced from satisfaction to disappointment to elation, as it lost the lead and then unexpectedly regained it in the 86th minute.
And with that, with John Brooks’ game-winning header in the 2-1 victory over Ghana, the spell had been recast upon a nation which has long struggled to embrace the world’s most popular sport.
It was the most-watched soccer game in ESPN history, drawing more than 11 million viewers, while another 1.4 million viewed the Watch ESPN app and another 4.8 million watched on Univision.
“I think the ascension of the sport was inevitable,” ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman said on a conference call Wednesday. “Does it help that the United States won their opening game against Ghana? Of course. But is Portugal going to be the most‑ watched game? Probably. But guess what? Germany is going to outdo that, and if they get out of the group, you’re looking at some huge numbers. The sport is growing no matter what.”
The biggest event in the country now gets a look at one of the greatest players in the world, when Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal play the U.S. in Sunday’s Group G match.
Following an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Germany, Portugal would be eliminated from reaching the knockout stage with a loss, while the U.S. would advance out of the group with a win.
Though Ronaldo is battling a knee injury, he is expected to play, and as always, his country will look to him to save the squad from an early exit. But that reliance on a star who can singlehandedly win games may be the reason Portugal may not move forward.
“I thought Portugal [catered] to Ronaldo far too often [against Germany],” said ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop, a longtime goalkeeper in the English Premier League. “I understand you have arguably the best player on the planet on your team and you want to get him the ball as often as you can, but I found the extent that Portugal went to do that kind of showed a lack of confidence in the rest of the squad. It showed how easy it can be to stop them, in that you almost don’t have to think about anybody else but Ronaldo.
“It’s encouraging from a U.S. point of view, how inept Portugal looked against the German team,” Hislop continued. “It’s well within the U.S. to beat Portugal and get to the next round.”
Getting past Portugal will have to be done without Altidore, who has been ruled out for the game with a hamstring injury. Without him, Hislop believes that the U.S. could get stretched too thin on the back line, but even then, he doesn’t think Ronaldo will be given too much room to operate.
“I expect every time the ball’s near Ronaldo, he’s going to have to deal with all the defense and the midfield,” Hislop said. “He’s at his best, when he has the ball at his feet and he’s running at defenders, so you can’t afford to have those gaps. I don’t think they’ll stray too far from him regardless.”
With the powerful German team looming in its third game, Hislop thinks the U.S. can’t afford to play it safe against Portugal and settle for a point.
“You continue to play [aggressively],” Hislop said. “[Jurgen] Klinsmann has spoken about establishing a personality and you have to do exactly that. You can’t deny [against Ghana] the U.S. did not play for a draw. They went for it. And they got the rewards. I thought that was admirable.”