In case you haven’t heard, the United States men’s soccer team faces Germany at noon tomorrow in their final group game of the 2014 World Cup. There are multiple scenarios for the four teams in Group G to advance to the knockout round, so here are the three simplest ways the Americans can progress…
If Team USA wins over Germany, they are group winners.
If the match is a draw, the U.S. will advance as the 2nd-placed team from the group.
If the Portugal-Ghana is a draw, the Americans will advance regardless of their result with the Germans.
The Americans have a chance for redemption against Germany, a traditional European powerhouse looking for a fourth World Cup (they won in 1954, ’74, and ’90 as West Germany). These two nations met in the quarterfinals of the 2002 tournament in South Korea, with Germany winning 1-0 on a header from Michael Ballack. USA fans will remember the game for a controversial no-call on Torsten Frings, who handled the ball on the goal line according to the American players. Referee Hugh Dallas elected to not give the U.S. a penalty, and German keeper Oliver Kahn collected another shutout victory.
Here’s a video of highlights from that 2002 quarterfinal encounter, taken from Our Way, a documentary about the Americans’ run to the last eight, their best finish since reaching the semifinals in 1930. The film includes audio taken from ESPN’s lead broadcast team at Korea/Japan, Jack Edwards and Ty Keough. This video was uploaded to YouTube by Paul Henricksen:
Will the U.S. beat Germany tomorrow in Recife? The match starts at noon Eastern on ESPN. Portugal-Ghana will be played simultaneously on ESPN2, so you might find flipping between the two channels as the afternoon goes on. With Group H also being decided tomorrow, it should be an exciting end to group play at the World Cup.