Mauricio Pochettino has stressed that the U.S. men’s national team needs to be at its best when it heads into the World Cup next summer, and they’ll get a chance see where the club is at just a few months before when they face one of the best teams in the world.
The United States Soccer Federation will soon announce a friendly between the USMNT and a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal team in March at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in March, The Athletic reported.
The match will mark the first time Ronaldo has played in the United States since Aug. 2, 2014 — an exhibition match for Real Madrid against Manchester United at Michigan Stadium.
The soccer superstar has played for Portugal in the U.S. since that same year when it faced the Republic of Ireland at MetLife Stadium.
Next to Lionel Messi, Ronaldo is the most recognizable name in global soccer, and with Portugal ranked fifth in the world, the March match is sure to provide a true litmus test for where the USMNT stands only three months out from the World Cup.
The national team is also expected to play Belgium, the eighth-ranked team in the world, during the March window, according to the report.
March will be an important month for the U.S., which will not reconvene until then after it plays a friendly against Uruguay on Tuesday in Tampa Bay.
By then, Pochettino will be trying to make decisions on the roster he’ll take with him to the 2026 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The United States has finally been feeling some good vibes this year, having gone unbeaten in its last four matches and coming off a solid showing on Saturday against Paraguay in a friendly held in Chester, Pennsylvania.
The friendly in March against Portugal should provide a real World Cup feel as well for the United States, which has played it’s past few exhibition matches at MLS stadiums, with Saturday’s match failing to sell out the 18,500-seat Subaru Park, home of the Philadelphia Union.
Tuesday’s match at Raymond James Stadium — home to the Buccaneers of the NFL — will be another chance to continue the USMNT’s momentum forward with a match against another quality opponent in Uruguay.
“You don’t change the captain of the ship in the middle of this storm. No, you give confidence and drive,” Pochettino told reporters in Tampa on Monday. “But if something was wrong, you need to change. But when you change, you need time to build the way that you are going to operate and do the things.”
