The USMNT loses to Portugal in what amounted to a final pre-World Cup audition

U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino tested 20 players across four formations over the course of 90 minutes. That will be the headline for him, though it left fans sitting through another loss.

Wayne's Matt Freese had a busy night in the U.S. net, but his saves ensured he stayed as the No. 1 goalkeeper on the depth chart.Read moreMike Stewart / AP

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published March 31, 2026, 9:43 p.m. ET

ATLANTA — If fans of the U.S. men’s soccer team wanted to see an A-level squad take on Portugal’s stars, they didn’t get it.

But if U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino wanted to see what would come of a slew of auditions for spots on his World Cup roster, he certainly got that.

Pochettino tested 20 players across four formations over the course of 90 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Portugal on Wednesday night inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

For a second straight game, Pochettino decided to try something new instead of working toward his best starting lineup. He deployed a 4-2-3-1 with no formal striker at the top, instead putting Christian Pulisic up there in front of Tim Weah, Weston McKennie, and Malik Tillman.

That freed Weah of the defensive responsibilities he had as a right back on Saturday, and Pochettino reinforced the role a little more by starting Alex Freeman there. The defense also included Media’s Auston Trusty at centerback and Wayne’s Matt Freese at goalkeeper, with the latter move seemingly cementing Freese as the No. 1 in net.

The point of putting Pulisic up top was to get him closer to goal, and that genuinely happened in the first few minutes. The U.S. had some very nice attacking plays, and Portugal’s defense worked well to keep shots from going in.

In the 22nd minute, Weah showed the virtue of playing him higher up the field with a burst down the right wing and cross for Pulisic. Alas, the Hershey native fluffed his chance, and the ball bounced past McKennie as it ran away.

When Pulisic shot narrowly wide from 20 yards in the 36th, it seemed the U.S. was building more momentum. But Portugal then went right down the field and scored. Bruno Fernandes drove forward, then tore up the U.S. defense with a gorgeous backheel pass for Francisco Trincão to finish.

Both teams decided the starters had done their work in the first half, and began a parade of substitutions as the second kicked off. Portugal made seven (of 11 allowed), and the U.S. made three: striker Patrick Agyemang for Pulisic, Tanner Tessmann for McKennie in midfield, and Max Arfsten for Antonee Robinson on the back line.

Those moves restored the U.S. to the 3-4-2-1 formation that many observers had wanted to see. Alas, it did not stop Portugal from scoring a second goal in the 59th, though the tactical change wasn’t why.

In fact, it was something worse — a corner kick play that completely fooled the Americans.

With almost everyone from both teams lined up near the goal mouth, Fernandes swung a service to one two Portuguese players who stood unmarked atop the box, second half substitute, João Felix. He hit an inch-perfect smash through the crowd that Freese likely couldn’t see until too late.

Freese made up for it in the 64th with a nice diving save on a long-range hit from Ruben Neves. That was one of three stops he made on the night.

Three minutes later, Pochettino sent in Folarin Balogun for Tillman and Joe Scally for Weah, putting the U.S. in a two-striker setup — effectively a 3-4-1-2 instead of a 3-4-2-1. The next subs, in the 79th, made it a 4-4-2: Brenden Aaronson and Gio Reyna entered for Freeman and Sebastian Berhalter.

Trusty was the last U.S. player to exit, replaced by Mark McKenzie in second-half stoppage time after cramping up. It was a sour ending to what had been a very good game overall for Trusty, on his own and in tandem with Chris Richards.

At the final whistle, it was pretty clear that the score didn’t matter to either team. But it will have to U.S. fans. Their hopes for a statement win in 2026 before the World Cup now rest with the tournament squad’s two warmup games, against Senegal and Germany in early June.