Arena praises 'outstanding' USA performance

Coach Bruce Arena saluted an ‘‘outstanding’’ performance after his unfancied side stunned World Cup dark horses Portugal with a 3-2 win in Suwon.

John O’Brien had fired the USA ahead as early as the fourth minute and a Jorge Costa own goal in the 29th minute plunged Portugal deeper into trouble. Brian McBride’s goal turned out to be the winner but Beto gave Portugal hope when he pulled a goal back three minutes after McBride scored.

A Jeff Agoos own goal in the 71st minute meant a nervous ending for the USA but they held firm.

Arena said: ‘‘We’ve beaten a great team in Portugal. They are a very good side with few weaknesses but we were well prepared and we came to this game believing we could win it.

‘‘We played 30 or 40 minutes of outstanding soccer and we won the game then.’’

Portugal coach Antonio Oliveira moaned: ‘‘We tried everything possible to get a goal at the end but we couldn’t and this result just proves what a difficult competition the World Cup is. Now we have only one option - to win our next two matches.’’