The United States were seconds away from securing qualification in the knockout round, but Ronaldo and Portugal were determined to not be eliminated, securing a 2-2 final score. It was a dissapointing finish for the USA, considering they had fought back from an early deficit to lead, 2-1 in the 94th minute. With virtually the last kick of the game, Verela scored off of a Cristiano Ronaldo cross to level the score, and delay American hopes for knockout qualification.

Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey head Jurgen Klinsmann’s team ahead 2-1, following an early Nani goal for Portugal off of a missed clearance from American Geoff Cameron. The highlights were plentiful in what was an epic game in the sweltering heat of Manuas, Brazil. The USA now head into their final World Cup game needing to get a result against Germany, which will prove a difficult prospect.

Nani got Portugal off to a perfect start, making the Americans pay for a bad missed clearance:

Tim Howard missed an early shot, but made up for it with this reflex save on the rebound:

Jermaine Jones rocketed home the USA equalizer after a lengthy period of quality chances:

Clint Dempsey redirected home the USA go-ahead goal, finishing a nicely-worked move from American passing (Graham Zusi with the cross).

Here’s a look at the whole passing move, as substitute DeAndre Yedlin surged down the right to make the initial cross:

And here is Varela’s goal at the very end from Ronaldo, securing the 2-2 final score: