The U.S. men’s national team is reportedly set to play an international friendly against Portugal in March, ending Cristiano Ronaldo’s 12-year absence from playing on United States soil.
Question marks surrounded the Stars and Stripes’ schedule in the build-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to unfold throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico next summer. Following the November international window, Mauricio Pochettino’s men did not have their next opponent lined up … until now.
report the USMNT and Portugal have “signed off” to play an exhibition match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during the March international break.
The match, which had been in the works behind the scenes since September, can take place during the first international window of the new year now that Portugal directly qualified for the 2026 World Cup, avoiding a playoff that would have seen them unavailable to make the trip to North America.
The highly anticipated match will bring five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Portugal captain Ronaldo to the United States for the first time since Aug. 2, 2014. The 40-year-old last played on U.S. soil when he featured in Real Madrid’s preseason friendly against Manchester United.
Despite not being a competitive fixture, the game generated a record-breaking crowd of 109,318 fans at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. With stars like Man Utd skipper Bruno Fernandes and Paris Saint-Germain trio Vitinha, João Neves and Nuno Mendes now alongside Ronaldo, the upcoming game is slated to be just as big of a spectacle.
