5 Things You Need to Know for U.S. versus Portugal

The United States and Portugal will face-off against one another on Sunday in each side's second 2014 World Cup match. The Group G opponents come in having had contrasting results in their openers.

The U.S. defied Ghana's suffering possession and numerous shots to steal the game 2-1 thanks to a timely 86th minute header from substitute defender John Brooks.

In what was expected to be a tight contest between highly ranked sides, Germany trounced Portugal, 4-0. Portugal appeared disjointed and was out of the match by halftime.

Here are 5 things you need to know about Sunday's prime time showdown in Manaus.

American injury questions Starting defender Matt Besler combined well with Geoff Cameron to create a stout partnership in the center of the U.S. defense, which shutout the Ghana attack in the first half of Monday's game.

The Kansas native had to be substituted at halftime in favor of Brooks because of a hamstring injury concern. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann told the media earlier this week that Besler "should" be available for Sunday. If he can't go, expect the 21-year-old Brooks, who played well in addition to scoring the game-winning goal, to start in his place.

A full-fledged shin kick to the face left U.S. captain Clint Dempsey with a broken nose against Ghana. Dempsey returned to the fray rather quickly and even attempted a header shortly thereafter.

The U.S.'s leader is fearless and embodies his country in more ways then one. Oh, there's no doubt he will play on Sunday, even though he says it causes him some difficulty breathing. The only question is whether or not he'll where a mask to protect it. He says he's still undecided.

Lastly, and most disappointedly, U.S. starting striker Jozy Altidore has been ruled out for Sunday's match. Altidore was chasing down a ball in the first half against Ghana when he pulled up in obvious pain while clutching his hamstring. The injury appeared serious at the time and Altidore had tears in his eyes as he was stretchered off the pitch.

Klinsmann told the media he is "hopeful" Altidore will play a role later in this World Cup. The extent of the injury hasn't been revealed by the U.S. medical staff, but, in my opinion, based on Altidore's initial pain and inability to carry on, he is likely out for the remainder of the tournament.

Filling Altidore’s void

Substituting Altidore in the starting eleven isn't a clear-cut decision. Aron Johannsson and Chris Wondolowki are the forwards at Klinsmann's disposal and represent like-for-like replacement options. But both feel all too inexperienced for this stage and the responsibility of a target striker in Klinsmann's offense.

The future is bright for the 23-year-old Johannsson, who replaced Altidore against Ghana but found it difficult to have an affect on the game. With some seasoning he could become a top striker amongst world football and provide a potent 1-2 punch with Altidore in the future. After Altidore transferred to England this past summer, Johannsson replaced him as AZ Alkmaar’s top striker, finishing as the Dutch top division’s third-best goal scorer with 17.

Johannsson has the technical ability to play at this level, but again, it's a question of experience. He's the most likely to replace Altidore on Sunday.

Wondolowksi, or "Wondo" as he's known, is a Major League Soccer-lifer. Just making a World Cup squad for the first time at the age of the 31 is seen as a major accomplishment in his career arc. His best skill is his positioning. A poacher of goals, he doesn't score spectacularly but instead ensures he's in a good spot when chances do come his way. He has scored 80 goals in 142 games for the San Jose Earthquakes since 2009.

In what is becoming a trendy assumption, Klinsmann could change schemes altogether and forego replacing Altidore with a forward option and instead add another runner to the midfield. Graham Zusi is the most likely to vaulted into the starting lineup if this is the case. He has featured regularly during the Klinsmann era and after being brought on as a substitute in the second half, supplied the corner kick for Brook's winning goal.

My take is that, based on my viewing of Johannsson, I'd start the Icelandic-American to begin the game. He looks a quality player and given the chances can hit the back of the net more than once.

However, if Johansson has an indifferent first half, changes should be considered.

Portugal comes in limping too

The health status of many of Portugal's regular starters is in question.

Portugal captain and reigning FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, who started against Germany, appears to be carrying a lingering knee injury from his club campaign with Real Madrid. It is widely known that he has not been 100 percent since touching down in Brazil. Twitter buzzed Wednesday with some media outlets reporting he may be ruled out of the World Cup entirely after he left practice early and had ice strapped to his knee. Those rumors have since been rescinded.

Ronaldo's national team coach says his star man is 100 percent fit. This feels like a smokescreen at best, and an utter and complete lie at worst. Is Ronaldo going to be healthy enough to play on Sunday? Maybe. But to say he is 100 percent healthy feels distant from the truth. How many players leave practice early all bandaged up if they are fully healthy?

If Ronaldo were to miss Sunday's match it would be a dream come true for the Americans to not have to deal with one of the world's top players. Either way, it appears Ronaldo is not in fact "100 percent," and that is a good thing for the U.S.

The Portuguese will already be without starting defender Pepe, who was shown a red card for his head-butt on Germany forward Thomas Mueller. Starting outside defender Fabio Coentrao has been ruled out with a groin injury. Additionally, defender Bruno Alves, striker Hugo Almeida and goalkeeper Rui Patricio, all of whom started against Germany, are listed as questionable, according to multiple media reports.

The majority of Portugal's ailments lay in defense, giving the U.S.'s goal scoring opportunities a major boost on Sunday.

U.S. scenarios for advancing to Round of 16

With each squad in Group G having two games yet to play, there are many scenarios to consider.

Keep in mind that FIFA's World Cup tiebreakers are as follows in ranked order: goal differential, goals scored and head-to-head contests. With the 2-1 win over Ghana, the U.S. has a +1 differential; two goals scored and would succeed Ghana in a head-to-head comparison.

The U.S.'s remaining games are against Portugal and Germany. The Portugal game is clearly the more winnable of the two. For such reasons, we will assume a loss to the Germans and analyze the chances of advancement for the U.S.

When this is done two (relatively) clear outcomes with the U.S. progressing to the knockout stages emerge: First, defeating Portugal outright would virtually guarantee the U.S. advances to the Round of 16. Second, drawing with Portugal still presents the U.S. with the most likely chance of advancing along with Germany. In the latter scenario the U.S. is not in control of its own destiny, but it would essentially take Ghana defeating Portugal and Germany for the U.S. to be eliminated.

So, generally speaking, win or draw against Portugal and the U.S. advances. Simple as that. (Sort of.)

ESPN has compiled a full list and likelihood briefing of all the scenarios for the U.S. to advance as of Friday. Here’s the concise list:

• Win twice, advance to the knockout stage.
• Win once and draw once, advance.
• Draw twice, advance.
• Win once and lose once, almost certainly advance (there's one highly unlikely mathematical exception).
• Lose twice, and almost certainly go out (there’s one highly unlikely mathematical exception). Draw once and lose once, and it gets complicated. It’s considerably better for the U.S. to draw against Portugal and lose to Germany than the other way around.

Eye-popping: CONCACAF overachieving at the highest level

With each passing day of this World Cup, teams from CONCACAF, the FIFA confederation that governs soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, continue to impress. Once considered one of the easiest FIFA regions, CONCACAF has exceedingly outperformed expectations in Brazil.

The United States (ranked 13th in the world by FIFA), Costa Rica (28), Mexico (20) and Honduras (33) are the World Cup qualifiers from CONCACAF. As of Friday, CONCACAF nations are 4-1-2 in the 2014 World Cup.

Costa Rica has been the surprise of the tournament so far with two shock victories over former World Cup winners Italy and Uruguay. Most impressive has been in the manner in which Los Ticos have won – by playing fast and tenacious in both defense and attack, never dropping in energy. Costa Rica has been fun to watch and won't be easily sent home.

Mexico won its opening match against Cameroon and then held host nation and tournament-favorite Brazil to a 0-0 draw. Honduras is the only CONCACAF team yet to lose, doing so twice to France and Ecuador.

The U.S. finished first in CONCACAF qualifying with 22 points in 10 games to reach Brazil.

So, what originally appeared for many to be an easy qualification route for the U.S. and essentially a free pass to the World Cup now resembles more of a tortious gauntlet that the Americans managed expertly.

With the early CONCACAF success in mind, U.S. fans should feel increasingly confident. If CONCACAF is the real deal, then so are the Americans.