By: Joe Lami
The United States Men’s National Team did what many believed wouldn’t happen on Thursday and made it out of the group of death to advance to the Round of Sixteen after a 1-0 loss to Germany. The advance in the World Cup is happening because of a 2-1 win for Portugal over Ghana.
Both the United States and Portugal ended the round robin portion of the tournament with four points each, but the United States had the advantage with goal differential. The U.S. had an even goal differential through the first three games, where Portugal was (-3) minus three.
Germany owned most of the game, out possessing the United States 67% to 33%. The ownership in possession showed ad Germany outshot the Americans 13-4 with a 6-0 advantage in shots on goal. The Germans showed they were the better team in just the opening minutes as the United States hardly had ownership of the ball, and one would begin to worry if the Germans were going to blow out the Americans.
The United States would be able to hold the Germans off of the scoreboard in the first half however with some remarkable play on the back end, especially from Centerback, Omar Gonzalez. Gonzalez had multiple tackles inside the penalty box to knock away German chances.
Germany would get on the scoreboard in the Second Half, when Thomas Muller would find the right side of the net on a shot at the top of the 18-yard box. The play happened off of a corner kick, when a German player headed one towards goal when American keeper, Tim Howard would make the save. However, the rebound found the right foot of Muller for his second goal of the World Cup.
The Americans did have a couple good scoring chances in the second half, but none of them came to fruition, as the game ended in a 1-0 win for Germany.
It would be a different story if Portugal didn’t defeat Ghana 2-1. Ghana was pushing Portugal in the last 20 minutes of the game with a 1-1 score line. A win for Ghana would have put them into the Round of Sixteen with a better goal differential than the US. Christino Ronaldo however ended Ghana’s chances when he put a rebound home in the 80th minute to help the United States survive the scare.
The group stages are coming to an end, and the Americans have made it through the group of death, with the standings being: Germany (7 Points, +5), United States (4 Points, +/-0), Portugal (4 Points, -3), and Ghana (1 Point, -2).
Up next for the Americans is their Round of Sixteen matchup, as they will take on the winners of Group H, most likely Belgium, who has already advanced through two games.
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