Portugal has nothing to lose; the US has plenty

Getting to Oceania rivaled what Ferdinand Magellan did — and the 16th-century explorer didn’t have to convert penalty kicks to arrive there.

Portugal’s women’s soccer team had to play 13 qualifying matches to earn its first World Cup appearance, winning five in a row to make it to the quadrennial tournament for the first time.

Not only did the Portuguese have to beat both Serbia (on the road) and Turkey in group matches to advance to the European playoffs, they also had to dispatch both Belgium (in the 89th minute) and Iceland (in extra time) and survive giving up the equalizer (also in the 89th) to Cameroon in the intercontinental playoff before Carole Costa grabbed the ticket with a 94th-minute penalty kick.

“We ended up having five matches in a row where we could not get any result but victory,” said coach Francisco Neto. “Emotionally, it was highly draining.”

So facing the United States will be nothing new when Portugal meets the two-time defending champions in Auckland, New Zealand, in their group finale in the middle of the night in the States on Tuesday (3 a.m., Fox, Peacock).

Win or die is what Magellan’s female descendants are accustomed to.

The Americans, who’ve beaten Vietnam and tied the Netherlands, need only a draw to advance to the second round, which they’ve never failed to do since they won the inaugural tournament in 1991. But if they want to avoid an unfavorable pairing with Sweden, they need a convincing victory.

“This is just the pressure of being at the World Cup,” said US forward Megan Rapinoe. “This moment is going to come no matter what. It’s not a bad thing for everyone to be like, ‘OK, let’s strap in and get ready for this game,’ knowing that not only the result, but the performance needs to be there.”

The Dutch should beat the Vietnamese, who’ve already been eliminated after two shutout losses. But since the US squad has a clear edge in the first two tiebreakers (plus-two in both goal differential and goals scored) all the champs need do to win the group is to outscore the Netherlands.

That may well be a challenge against a Portuguese side that must win to advance and competes as if it has nothing to lose. After playing the Dutch to within a goal, it came hard at the Vietnamese, tallying twice in the first two dozen minutes.

The Americans, who’ve conceded only two goals in 10 matches this year, will be a decidedly more difficult opponent to break down.

“The United States will be a completely different game,” said Neto.

Not only have the Portuguese never beaten the United States in 10 meetings, they’ve never scored, while allowing 39 goals. But their most recent encounter in Houston two years ago was only 1-0 and the Americans didn’t score the winner until the 76th minute off a corner kick.

The Portuguese, who scheduled tune-ups with Cup participants England (a scoreless draw on the road), Japan, Norway, and New Zealand, are comfortable taking on the global iron.

“The only way to grow up is to be in the same place as the best,” Neto, who has directed the national team since 2014, said before last year’s European championships.

For decades, the Portuguese women were an afterthought in their homeland, overshadowed by the men who were perennial global qualifiers. Finally, getting to the Cup gave the women the legitimacy that they’d craved.

Now they’re playing with house money.

“The United States is one of the greatest powers in the world,” said midfielder Kika Nazareth. “But we believe and we’re going to do it.”

Unlike the Americans, who have 14 Cup newcomers on the roster and are starting six, Portugal is loaded with experienced players. Seven of them have earned more than 100 international caps and three of them — Costa, captain Dolores Silva, and forward Ana Borges — have more than 150.

This is not a bunch that will be easily rattled. Since either a loss or a draw will send the Portuguese home, they’ll have no reason to hold back. They already can return with heads held high.

Not so the Americans, who’ve won the Cup a record four times and never have failed to make the podium. A loss, which would be the biggest upset in Cup history, would be catastrophic, and would put the Americans out of the tournament (unless the Dutch also lose).

A draw — assuming that the Netherlands defeats Vietnam — likely would mean a secondround date with the Swedes, who long have been the Yanks’ stumbling block.

So the Americans know they have to win and win decisively. All that gets them is a date with a much better opponent, the first of several.

“You have a must-perform, must-win kind of game,” Rapinoe said. “That’s what the tournament is now. Every single game from here on out is a pressure moment — and that’s the best part of being at the World Cup.”