Injury-hit Portugal must respond, says Veloso

Veloso and his team-mates were thrashed 4-0 by Germany to begin Group G in poor fashion, with Pepe (suspended), Rui Patricio (thigh), Hugo Almeida (quad) and Fabio Coentrao (thigh) all unavailable for their clutch battle with the United States on Sunday.

Almeida and Coentrao have been ruled out of the group stages altogether, which could mean the end of their World Cup stints respectively with Paulo Bento's men on the brink of an early exit due to their horrid form and run with injury.

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