The decisive USA vs Germany World Cup match will take place at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife this Thursday, June 26 at 9:00 AM Pacific. If you haven’t been watching the World Cup thus far, then shame on you! If you haven’t watched any Group G action either, then I have no words for you. Both fixtures from over the weekend were absolutely phenomenal from an innocent bystander perspective. For starters, Germany vs. Ghana took awhile to get going, but the second half was cracking football.
The Ghanaian squad gave the Germans quite a scare until substitute Miroslav Klose rescued the Europeans. It was Klose, who in the process of scoring his goal, equaled Brazil’s Ronaldo with 15 goals scored at the World Cup. As a side note, I anticipate the Lazio man will break the record at some point during this summer’s tournament. That match finished tied 2-2 by the way.
Then, the Americans played probably one of the greatest attacking football matches that I have seen in quite some time. This was also without their target forward Jozy Altidore, making the feat that much more impressive. The US defensive was shaky at the start, giving up a very sloppy goal to Portugal’s Nani, but after that it was all USA until the dying minutes. The Portuguese and Americans also finished level at 2 goals apiece, setting up a final day full of anticipation and nervousness for all four Group G nations.
USA Team News
The good news for the US is that they played an attacking style of football that was more than deserving of a victory. The bad news is that the match against Portugal only resulted in a draw.
After conceding inside of five minutes, the Americans looked the dominant side and gave the Portuguese everything that they could handle. Sporting KC midfielder Graham Zusi was highly efficient on the left flank, while right back Fabian Johnson continued to impress and impose his skill on the game.
The one major decision that I believe Coach Klinsmann needs to make is removing midfielder Alejandro Bedoya from the starting lineup. He hasn’t provided the kind of service or skill that one would look for in a right winger or even on the left hand side, where he played against Ghana.
DeAndre Yedlin showed that he not only belongs in the US squad, but that he is more than capable of starting for this team. The 20 year old Seattle Sounders right back displayed poise well beyond his years in a different position than he is accustomed to. He provided this team with a two-headed monster on the right flank, with Johnson playing behind him. The pace and ball skills between both men are astonishing, and going forward, this will be very difficult for teams to handle, especially when they are capable of interchanging positions.
The other big news for the US heading into the match will be monitoring Altidore’s progression through his hamstring injury. I think holding him out against Germany would be wise because it’s a difficult situation to come back from on short rest.
Germany Team News
The Germans aren’t the same that we saw against the Portuguese in their opening match. I saw a great deal of Germany’s success come after the dismissal of Pepe. Yes, they are a very threatening attacking team, with players like Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze, but the defense has been suspect at times to say the least.
Captain Phillip Lahm has been playing a central role in the midfield, shaking up the lineup in the back. His absence in addition to the injured Mats Hummels at center back are two glaring holes in their squad. Look for the United States to come out and attack this weakened back line from the opening whistle.
USA vs Germany Prediction
Ghana are a quality side for sure, but the Germans didn’t look convincing in their previous match with the Black Stars. The back line for Germany has looked very uncertain, especially in the air. The United States can certainly exploit the suspect back four through their set pieces, which the Americans have been excellent in executing. I think if Altidore remains sidelined, that Dempsey’s presence up top will be enough to put pressure on the European nation, just as he did against Portugal. Germany are still a top 3 team in the world and the match will certainly be a challenge, but this World Cup has shown us that the expected isn’t what you’re going to get. I don’t see how the US don’t get a point out of this match, given their performance from Sunday. I see the final score of this match being 2-2, with Germany topping the group and the Americans moving on to a likely showdown with Belgium.
USA vs Germany TV Schedule:
The match will be televised live on ESPN, ESPN3, and Univision at 9 AM PST (12 PM EST).
