No more scenarios, no more watching other games closely, the United States Men’s National Team is through to the Round of 16 and will play Belgium on July 1st at 4pm EST.
Conditions were tough in Recife, where the city suffered severe flooding hours before the match. The match went on as planned, though, as the Germany beat the Americans 1-0 in rainy Arena Pernambuco.
Tensions were high early, as Germany controlled possession and served several balls through the box, but US goalkeeper Tim Howard and the U.S. back line handled the cutting Germans beautifully. Thankfully, the U.S. also received a lifeline when Ghana suffered an own goal in the 30th minute, aiding the USMNT's chances to get to the knockout stage.
The U.S. tried to move forward but the German defense and pressure held strong. Going into halftime, the U.S. was in good position and their defense looked poised. Omar Gonzalez, who started in his first ever World Cup match, played fantasticly - making timely tackles and recovering beautifully in several instances.
Then things started to get hectic. Germany came out of the half just as they started the game. Constant pressure with great combination passes in the U.S.’s third led to a corner. Tim Howard cleared a header nicely, but the ball landed at the feet of Thomas Muller, who buried his fourth goal of the tournament:
The U.S. would still advance if they lost the match 1-0, so long as Portugal didn't give up their 1-0 lead to Ghana. But only two minutes after Muller's goal against the U.S., Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan netted an equalizer, becoming the highest African goal-scorer in World Cup history.
The next 23 minutes were nerve-racking as the U.S. were a Ghana goal or a Germany goal away from losing their spot in the round of 16. The Americans simply couldn’t get forward and threaten German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. However, Cristiano Ronaldo allowed the entire United States to breathe a little easier. The Portuguese captain saw a poor clearance by Ghana goalkeeper Fatau Dauda fall to his feet, and the Real Madrid man buried it into the corner, clearing a path for the United States. (Ronaldo's expression after the goal seemed a recognition of its impotence to advance Portugal's World Cup hopes.)
Meanwhile in Recife, the Americans executed a lovely counter in the latter stages of the game, but German captain Philipp Lahm slid across the box blocking Alejandro Bedoya’s shot from the left side. A draw may have been more satisfying, but it didn’t matter. Moments later the referee blew the whistle and the United States was through.
Next up for the United States will be Belgium, after their 1-0 victory over South Korea today to top their group. At the outset, the Red Devils were the tournament's "dark horse" among many experts. Indeed, they are towering with talent - with the likes of Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku, Man City’s Vincent Kompany, Atleti goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Liverpool’s Simon Mingolet and Chelsea youngster Eden Hazard.
The U.S. has played two friendlies against Belgium since Jurgen Klinsmann became coach of the USMNT. They lost 1-0 back in 2011 and lost 2-4 in 2013. The U.S. will receive some much-needed rest ahead of their Round of 16 match, but will have a tough task ahead. However, the Belgians have been underwhelming in this tournament despite all the hype surrounding them and they have little to no experience playing in World Cups. They had to come back against Nigeria, and needed some brilliance from Eden Hazard to beat Russia late. Their outside back positions have struggled in the tournament and throughout their first games, while there have been some great individual performances, there hasn't been a complete team performance. It will be huge for the U.S. if they get Jozy Altidore back, but they have shown they can go on without him. Belgians are excited about this team and they do have the potential to be a threat, but their current form isn’t anything that the U.S. can’t handle. As always, on to the next one.
You can find The18 writer Bryce Badwan at @BBadss on Twitter.
