USMNT advances to knockout round despite 1-0 setback to Germany

-courtesy of U.S. Soccer

 RECIFE, Brazil (June 26, 2014) - The U.S. Men's National Team fell 1-0 to Germany to conclude Group G play at the 2014 FIFA World Cup but combined with a 2-1 Portugal victory against Ghana in the other group match, it was enough to send the Americans to the Round of 16 for the second consecutive World Cup. 

The USA will now face the winner of Group H - Belgium - on July 1 at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN, WatchESPN, Univision and Univision Deportes. The USA finished the group tied for second place on points with Portugal at four each, but the U.S. goes through to the knockout round and Portugal is eliminated based on a superior goal differential. The U.S. finished Group G play with four goals scored and four allowed while Portugal scored four, but allowed seven.

The lone goal of the game came in the 55^th minute from German forward Thomas Muller and soon after at Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, Asamoah Gyan scored for Ghana to equalize at 1-1 against Portugal in a match that was being played concurrently.

Thus started a span of 23 nerve-wracking minutes in which another Ghana goal would have put the United States out of the tournament on goal differential and put Ghana through in second place. Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo gave the USA some breathing room with a goal in the 80^th minute to put his country ahead 2-1.

The match was played steady rain on a soggy field which stood up well despite rain that had been falling for hours before the match, causing serious flooding in Recife.

The USA had two chances to equalize in stoppage time of the second half (and a tie would have also put the USA in the Round of 16 regardless of the Portugal-Ghana result), but Germany defender Phillip Lahm's sliding block of Alejandro Bedoya's shot deep in the penalty box kept the U.S. off the board. Shortly after that, Clint Dempsey put a short-range header just over the bar. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard played a clean match making several safe grabs on low crosses.

For full standings and results, visit ussoccer.com's 2014 FIFA World Cup homepage.
 
Goal Scoring Rundown:
GER - Thomas Muller, 55th minute: The goal came off a corner kick taken short from theright side. A cross was sent into the penalty area and towering center-back Per Mertesacker sent a powerful header on frame. It was well-saved by Tim Howard with a dive to his right but the rebound bounced out to Thomas Muller at the top of the box on the left side. Muller hit a perfect first-time shot with the inside of his right foot from 18 yards out that flew just inside the right post. GER 1, USA 0
 
Key Saves and Defensive Stops:
USA - Omar Gonzalez, 14^th minute: The Germans found some early space down the right side and Jerome Boateng crossed hard on the ground. Omar Gonzalez beat the German attacker to the ball and cleared away the dangerous cross that was skidding on the wet ground across the face of the goal.
USA - Omar Gonzalez, 14^th minute: Gonzalez had another crucial clearance second later as Thomas Muller got through on a quick pass into the box and would have had a clear shot on goal from close range had Gonzalez not slide from the side to knock the ball out of danger, avoiding a foul that would have resulted in a penalty kick.
USA - Tim Howard, 35^th minute: Mesut Ozil worked his way loose in the penalty box and had a good look at goal, shooting between the legs of the closing Matt Besler, but Howard stood his ground and knocked away the low, hard shot to keep the game scoreless. Omar Gonzalez swept away the rebound.
USA - Omar Gonzalez, 47^th minute - On a dangerous curving cross from the right, Gonzalez was able to retreat quickly and jostle Mesut Ozil just enough to make him head the ball over the crossbar.
USA - Matt Besler, 83^rd minute - Mesut Ozil popped free deep inside the U.S. penalty area, but took a touch that was a bit hard and Besler was able to sweep the ball away on a tackle.
GER -- Phillip Lahm, 90+3^rd minute - A nice U.S. attack down the right side saw the Americans work the ball across the penalty area to the left side to Alejandro Bedoya. The U.S. midfielder momentarily had a look at goal, but a last-ditch slide by Lahm knocked the ball away.
 
Milestone Watch:

• It is the first time in the history of the U.S. Men's National Team that the team has advanced out of the group phase in consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments.
• Clint Dempsey's was held scoreless, but his next World Cup tally would be the fifth of his career and match the record set by Landon Donovan
• DaMarcus Beasley played in his 10th FIFA World Cup game, tying him for fourth all-time with Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna. Beasley is now one cap behind second-place Cobi Jones and Earnie Stewart (11 caps each in the FIFA World Cup).
• Tim Howard made the seventh start and appearance of his World Cup career, which ties the U.S. MNT record among goalkeepers with Tony Meola.
• Howard earned the 103rd appearance of his international career, breaking the goalkeeping record of 102 held by Kasey Keller. Howard ranks 11th on the all-time U.S. MNT appearances list.

Next on the Schedule:
The U.S. MNT faces the winner of Group H in the Round of 16 at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 1, at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil.
Broadcast information: ESPN, WatchESPN, Univision, Univision Deportes and ESPN Radio
Social: Twitter (@ussoccer | @ussoccer_esp); Facebook; Instagram
 
Additional Notes:

• The USA is now 8-18-6 all-time in the FIFA World Cup while Germany moves to 62-20-20 all-time.
• The USA is 3-7-0 all-time against Germany.
• The 13th-ranked USA faced a top-10 FIFA-ranked opponent for the 59th time in its history. The USA is now 16-34-9 all-time against top-10 teams in FIFA's ranking system and 9-23-3 against top-5 teams.
• The U.S. MNT moves to 5-2-2 in 2014.
• The USA is now 2-5-1 all-time in games played in Brazil.
• U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann's starting lineup featured Tim Howard in goal and one change to the back line from the Ghana match as Omar Gonzalez got his first start of the World Cup, lining up at center back next to Matt Besler along with left back DaMarcus Beasley and right back Fabian Johnson
• The USA's 4-5-1 formation included holding midfielders Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman, along with Graham Zusi on the left, Brad Davis (who made his first start and saw his first minutes of the World Cup) on the right and Michael Bradley in the center.
• As he did against Portugal, Clint Dempsey played up front, and of course wore the captain's armband.
• The USA is 9-4-3 in games with Dempsey as the team captain.
• The USA is now 32-12-9 all-time under Klinsmann.
• Thursday's game against No. 2 Germany marked the sixth occasion in which the U.S. MNT played top-5 FIFA-ranked teams in back-to-back games.
• U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann made two subs in the match, sending on Alejandro Bedoya for Brad Davis in the 59^th minute and DeAndre Yedlin for Graham Zusi in the 84^th minute. It was the second game in a row in which Yedlin has come on as a sub.
• The USA played without forward Jozy Altidore (hamstring).

USA Disciplinary Notes:

• All U.S. players are eligible for the Round of 16 match.
• Jermaine Jones (caution on June 22), Omar Gonzalez and Kyle Beckerman (who both picked up cautions against Germany) carry yellow cards into the next match. Another caution during any game through the quarterfinals for the trio would result in one-game suspension.
• Yellow cards clear heading into the semifinals.

- U.S. Men's National Team Match Report -

Match: U.S. Men's National Team vs. Germany
Date: June 26, 2014
Competition: 2014 FIFA World Cup - Group G
Venue: Arena Pernambuco; Recife, Brazil
Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET
Attendance: 41,876
Weather: 73 degrees, rainy
Scoring Summary:       1 2 F
USA                             0 0 0
GER                             0 1 1
GER - Thomas Muller                         55th minute
Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 23-Fabian Johnson, 3-Omar Gonzalez, 5-Matt Besler, 7-DaMarcus Beasley; 15-Kyle Beckerman, 13-Jermaine Jones; 14-Brad Davis (11-Alejandro Bedoya, 59), 4- Michael Bradley, 19- Graham Zusi (2-DeAndre Yedlin, 84) 8-Clint Dempsey (capt.)
Subs Not Used: 6-John Brooks, 10-Mix Diskerud, 12-Brad Guzan, 16-Julian Green, 18-Chris Wondolowski, 20-Geoff Cameron, 21-Timmy Chandler, 22-Nick Rimando, 23-Aron Johannsson
Not Available: 17-Jozy Altidore
Head coach: Jurgen Klinsmann
GER : 1-Manuel Neuer; 4-Benedikt Howedes, 5-Mats Hummels, 17-Per Mertesacker, 20-Jerome Boateng; 7-Bastian Schweinsteiger (19-Mario Gotze,76), 16-Phillip Lahm, 18-Toni Kroos; 8-Mesut Ozil (9-Andre Schurrle, 89), 10-Lukas Podolski (11-Miroslav Klose, 46), 13-Thomas Muller
Subs not used: 2-Kevin Grosskreutz, 3-Matthias Ginter, 6-Sami Khedira, 12-Ron-Robert Zieler, 14-Julian Draxler, 15-Erik Durm, 21-Shkodran Mustafi, 22-Roman Weidenfeller, 23-Christoph Kramer
Head coach: Joachim Low
Stats Summary: USA / GER
Shots: 4 / 13
Shots on Goal: 1 / 6
Saves: 5 / 0
Corner Kicks: 2 / 3
Fouls: 15 / 9
Offside: 2 / 7
Misconduct Summary:
GER - Benedikt Howedes (caution)    11th minute
USA - Omar Gonzalez (caution)         37
USA - Kyle Beckerman (caution)        62
Officials:
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Abduxamidullo Rasulov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Bakhadyr Kochkarov (KGZ)
Fourth Official: Alioum (CMR)
Budweiser Man of the Match: Kyle Beckerman