WASHINGTON, June 6: The United States scored one of its greatest wins in international soccer Wednesday, but the triumph over Portugal was largely greeted with an indifferent shrug across a nation where soccer is a sporting pauper.

A combination of a dismal US showing in the last finals in France four years ago and the unappetizing prospect of getting up at 5 a.m. on the East Coast and 2 a.m. on the West to watch the first-round game against highly favored Portugal, left the sport drawing more yawns than usual.

In fact Ireland’s dramatic draw against powerhouse Germany two hours later was greeted with greater rapture in New York and Boston than the US victory in a country that hosted the finals only eight years ago.—Reuters