RECIFE, Brazil– As if the drama surrounding the U.S. Men’s National Team’s decisive group finale versus Germany didn’t have enough drama, torrential rains have paralyzed the city here ahead of today’s all-important clash.
The task is simple for the Americans. Win and they top the group. Tie and they advance to the Round of 16 in second place. Lose, and they run the risk of being knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage (though if Portugal defeats Ghana by a narrow margin, and the USA loses a close one, the Americans could still go through).
SBI will be providing live commentary on today’s match so please feel free to follow all the action here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Today’s commentary is after the jump):
Bradley’s blown a couple of good chances at the top of the penalty area today. Jones might’ve been better just to shoot there. Would like to see Johnson get in position to get a crack on goal. He looks sharp today.
Jones looks a step slow today. I wonder if he’s got heavy legs from short turnaround.
Jones Johnson and Beasley have been outrunning most others from what I saw.
So is Jones our target forward now? He’s doing a good job!
Portugal on attack
Ghana just scored a own goal
We’ve looked competent in possession, Germany haven’t really threatened. Let’s keep it going boys, keep putting them under pressure and make them chase the game.
Portugal scores on og
This ref has massively stupid positioning.
He’s actually half German. Which half? With the whistle at hand, it’s the half that blows!
Haven’t liked the calls or the non-calls very much, but hopefully no injuries.
Embarrassing fall by Jones. I think the ref saw that one.
Ronaldo stoned on goal line header
Beasley sucks!
Beasley keeps letting the cross in what’s he there for??
Wow Ronaldo almost scored already.
US are about to realise the real result of bradley’s cause
Gonzalez is horrible. I am scared!
Ya… time to pull Omar already….
Better.
I was mean earlier. But actually Pull Omar now but mostly cause that yellow. He had a good half.
Anyone have stream? My satellite is out.
Come on just hold hands in the middle of the field and sing kumbaya for 90 minutes
We have 53,000 troops in Germany and another 10,000 in Italy. They should all be put on high alert and told to start marching on Berlin if Germany starts threatening the US goal.
You disgust me.
No need to worry this game is going to end in either a 1-1 or 2-2 draw. This line-up is not surprising. How is this for a exciting scenario? Germany scores first, maybe even goes up 2-0. The struggling trio of Omar, Davis and Beasley will be subbed out early in the second half for Julian Green, John Brooks and Timmy Chandler. Green has a dramatic goal, the equalizer, and Chandler maybe an assist or goal. Germany and USA both go through to the knock-our rounds and everybody is happy and Green, Brooks, Chandler will be heroes for sparking a historic 2nd half comeback and Klinsmann will be hailed as a genius.
Any truth to the report that KPB and Muntari have been kicked off Ghana’s team?
Just saw Ives’ story above. ESPN and many others reporting this too. I’m a bit scatterbrained right now… Wooohoo!
I think there may be a new Germerican situation today– 23 new German footsoccer players with an American daddy. Line forms on the right, boys.
LET’S GO YANKS!!!!
or….we could learn to half-azz develop some talent.
Crazy idea isn’t it?
Whoosh!
Omar? We must have a gentlemen’s agreement, in one direction or another… Fingers crossed Mr. Gonzales cleans up those crosses.
A couple of possible explanations for Omar getting the start:
1) Cameron is exahusted physically or mentally, or both
2) Jurgen gambled that Klose might have gotten the start and wanted Omar’s ability in the air.
3) Jurgen knows Germany is not going to be that aggressive and he needs to rest a few players without making it obvious.
A fourth:
Klinsmann had planned from June to have a variety of lineups. One of the ways to have an “American Style” is to have a diverse team in which anyone can participate and do a job, so Yedlin can go in with no experience and do well, and we can start three different midfields without losing chemistry, and we can pick the center back pair best suited to stopping the particular opponent. In this case, Omar might be best against the German team.
Gonzo is mind blowing inclusion
With the quality of German movement why include someone always caught ball watching
If this is due to Cameron errors if Brooks was choice when besler was hurt why no include him today
It appears he doesn’t want to start youngsters which makes sense in this match. The field conditions could negate speed.
After the GHA match, JK said that Brooks is Besler’s replacement and Gonzo was Cameron’s. Apparently, he sees a difference between playing LCB and RCB.
Time to head to the sports pub. I am looking forward to this game more than any other in a long time. Hope I am not wrong again.
Have fun.
Brad Davis is a subpar player, and I wish I could use profanity here.
scheisse!
he’s there as a placeholder for Julian Green coming on in the 75th minute and faling over Mertesacker’s knee to draw a game-tying penalty attempt in the 3rd minute of stoppage time. unfortunately Dempsey takes it and punts it over the bar…. 2-1 Germany. Ghana wins 3-1 and starts throwing dollar bills from the recently arrived bonus money at their fans… Germany anf Ghana advance… JK critics come out in full b/c why the F was Donovan not there, why JK defenders take the moral vistory of 1-1-1 and two chances to advance as signs of progress- we have another four years of arguments
This is way too important for joking around. Still why is Gonzo there?! I hope and pray that JK knows way more than all of us. Otherwise it is his ego.
who would you rather have? Goodson/ -yeah me too
I would have Cameron. There is no point talking about players not at WC. Cameron is just faster and has played against stronger opposition. One game does not mean much.
One game is everything in the World Cup
I really dont want to have a discussion about defining “success” when we fail to advance. But your situation is plausible (guessing MB or JJ takes PKs though). Just glad GHA is imploding and the conditions are horrible on the pitch, so that both teams will play conservatively. Memories of snow WCQ game.
Line up out Davis and Omar starting in place of Cameron and Bedoya.
Interesting line up.
Lineup out, Davis and Omar starting! Omar? Wtf happened to Besler and brooks.
Brooks is lcb
Well i guess that Klinsi was telling the truth with that after the Ghana game.
Brad Davis is starting. Bedoya on the bench 4-5-1
Are we still live here?
Gonzo for Cameron! Looks like a Vogts move.
saying he is throwing it?
No, I have no inside knowledge. I would be interested to see Gonzo’s +/- record when he is on the pitch. I groaned when he came in at US-POR and told those around me that we are gonna get scored on. I hated to be right. Gonzo is a good guy, but he has not recovered from his swoon in form at the end of camp. I hope I am wrong.
They have more chemistry so that’s probably why.
the kind that blows up in their face?
Vogts??? I mean its odd but… like um… Your reasoning makes no sense.
Omar, if there was ever a day where you did not get caught ball watching in a key moment, please let this be it!
He’s there for one reason: to be the tallest head on the end of Davis’ set-piece deliveries.
Pretty telling that he’s not there for his primary job – to defend and stop the potent attack.
stop with reasonable arguments-they do not belong here!
Or, maybe it’s that Cameron’s mental errors played a part in both Portugal goals (shanking the clearance early, not properly tracking Varela on the equalizer late). Still, it’s a bold move.
Cameron never recovered from the error in the 5th minute. I watched the Portugal game a second time. He looked really shaky and unsure of himself. Mentally, I think he’s shot for this tournament. I think this is a good move for JK to make.
MLS reporting FIFA suspends Suarez 4 months and fines him $100K
The fine is 100,00 CHF, not USD.
People throwing a fit because Omar and Davis are starting in 3.2.1…
Full lineup?
Same as last match, but Davis for Bedoya, Omar for Cameron
JK just duplicated the Bob Bradley error of 2006. Brad Davis on the field against Germany? Really!? US better hope that Portugal and Ghana play to a tie. Otherwise US will be on their way back to the States.
Howard; Johnson; Gonzalez; Besler; Beasley; Beckerman; Jones; Bradley; Zusi; Davis; Dempsey.
throwing as we speak….oy, Omar… Germany effectively starts the game up 1-0
You really hate him don’t you?
You’re worried about Gonzo’s form when the man he’s replacing had two defensive howlers that directly led to goals in the last match?
He had one. Johnson was responsible for the 2nd.
Here is an interesting tidbit of information. Players from club team Bayern Munich have scored a total of 12 goals so far in the world cup, far more than any other.
Another one: US defender and youngster John Brooks has scored exactly the same number of career WC goals as one Wayne Rooney.
Roooooaayyyy!
Imagine if Ribery was healthy.
+1
While we wait, here is a pre game pep talk from Lt. Aldo Raines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jstT8nTj9vA
I just read that US families and friends are not even attempting to make the trip to the stadium because it is too dangerous. Maybe I am biased because I will be watching the game 2 hours late but I really hope this game is postponed.
So a mostly empty stadium? That’s probably not in our favor.
I don’t really hope but my cable won’t be on till tomorrow so yeah…
Thats good because many of our players’ friends and family are Germany fans.
Jurgen just signed the line up card, should be out on twitter momentarily.
Best thing for both teams is to show up and kick the ball around especially if it is sloppy, neither team needs to risk injury. Imagine all the questions in Germany if Muller is injured in a game that is basically meaningless.
I guess I don’t understand why it is ok in this country for the NFL to play bench players when they have clinched their position, but yet for soccer it woud be scandalous if two teams who earned this position based on their first two games play a little kick around. Is it boring for the fans sure, but as a fan I would much rather see my team adance and put themselves in the best postion for the oun of 16. If those games were a week away I could see it, but both are due to play next Monday or Tuesday. Sign me up for boring and a guarantee of a game next Tuesday.
The goal of this isn’t to see who is better in pool play the goal is to advance to the round of 16.
I expect a pretty slow match.
These conversations are being duplicated over on the other thread (unfortunately).
Meanwhile, will this then be the #RainClasico ?
We played defense and counter against Ghana. We lucked out with Dempsey’s quick goal and got a win. We started the game with Portugal, again with a defense and counter mindset but with a different formation. The U.S maybe played its best game I have seen them play and kept the defense and counter for the full 90.
It should be noted however, with the new formation the substitution of a single attacker would allow us to transform from a defense and counter to an attacking mode, i.e. false 9. At the start I thought if the U.S goes down only 1 goal they will stick with it but if they go down by 2 they would make the switch.
Now what? Ghana is very capable of scoring 3 (or more) goals against Portugal and winning by 2 (or more). Of the 3 teams in our group it is Germany that our defense and counter stands the worst chance of getting a result. They can, and often do, score in bunches. The U.S can not go with defend and counter today!
I know. I said it was Julian Green and false 9 time against Portugal. I was wrong. But I will double-down. Plus, we can not be content with simply going through as most commenters here seem to be, thrilled even. We must start to play real soccer now if we are to have any chance against the big boys.
Leave the country
Is that you “The Zimmer”?
And by real soccer, you mean playing a system we’ve never played before with the focal point of that system being a fourth division player who’s never started a first-team match at club level or for the national team? Wow, ok.
Good god. People, enough with the false 9 nonsense. There are four teams in the world that can do it: Barcelona, Bayern, Spain, and Germany. And those countries aren’t stocking their attack with defensive midfielders, nor are they sticking an 18-year old reserves player as the false 9.
asinine comments keep coming from this guy smh….I don’t know what game you watched but the US took it to Portugal, not the defend and counter game you hallucinated about! Give props where props are due!
I wouldn’t say there was a lot of luck involved in Dempsey’s goal.
A lack of focus by Ghana maybe but it shows you that Clint is great at taking advantage of opposition letdowns.
We attacked and got a very well executed, skillful goal against Ghana and then went into a defensive posture. Unprecedented!!!!
Too soon to call the Uruguayan attack “toothless” now?
ROP,
lacking bite
lack of hunger
lacking sharpness
a game you can really sink your teeth into
There are thousands of more imaginative people than me coming up with terms. And it was such a nice World Cup before this too.
The decision must be tough for Suarez to swallow.
A bit off topic?
A taste of things to come.
I think this is good in a way because people our takjing about soccer even if it is because of a bite.
Imagine.. If Team USA is able to beat Germany today all the JK haters/LD luvrs will have to and face the music.
I wouldn’t count on it. ” ‘Denial’ isn’t just a river in Egypt.” (It really doesn’t work as well when typed)
I don’t give a damn – Just win USA!
I feel thats unfair to Donovan that you would justify his snub because the USA wins this game. He deseved to be on the roster, but now that he isn’t you want the USA to win so his supporters to feel bad about fighting for his case? He could of at least contributed just as much as Davis, Green, or Wondolowski thus far. We will never know what Donovan would have done at this World Cup, but don’t use the USA’s success to put down Donovan or those who Donovan has so strongly influenced.
Show some respect to the man who has gotten us this far. I know theres no use whining for him to be on the roster, but this is more about showing him respect.
Look at the USA’s success in a postive light, not one where you can belittle on other passionate USA fans.
I have not been a big JK fan but if he gets us through this tough group, I have to give him a big slice of the credit because I think he’s done a really good job in these first two games. That said, no matter how far we go, he should have had LD in the squad instead of Julian Green. I don’t care whether you classify LD as a striker or midfielder, that’s immaterial. The one caveat is that maybe there was some chemistry issue with having LD there and that’s the reason for his exclusion. I don’t think so but if there were, I’d reserve judgment until we got more details, which we may never get.
I also loved his reaction when Portugal equalized. No hysterics or anger or anything, just a little grin. That definitely won me over somewhat.
Donovan certainly hasn’t done much to state his case…. if he is invisible and unable to make a difference to prevent the Galaxy elimination from US Open by the mighty Railhawks, not so sure he’d do much v Germany. He has been largely ineffective for the better part of 8 months now. Sad, but true.
Per Rachel Nichols – ” FIFA spokeswoman on USA-Germany: “It is true there are heavy rains, but the match will go on as scheduled.” No delay, she says.”
Is she related to Baghdad Bob?
Plz let the game delay til 4pm CT, since I’m getting out of work @ that time Lol
They would have to delay the start of both games. They would both have to be played today, though. Otherwise the entire Round of 16 schedule would be jeopardized.
Does anyone know if FIFA will delay the start of both games if the USA game is delayed? If not, it could definitely help us out to know how the Ghana – Portugal game is going before we get on the pitch.
No, they will both be delayed if neccesary. Sorry.
Blah. That sucks. But I still think these field conditions tend to help the USA. It would make me think that it will be low scoring/low risk and a draw would be more likely. I understand going for the win and am all for that, but if the field is in poor condition, then there is no reason to risk injury (for either team).
Our Boys are prepared for this kind of game thanks to the blizzard game in colorado. Dempsey with the messy win!!
So anyone else hear about the Ghana implosion? Munarti punched a guy and KPB was suspendedtoo. This is obviously good for the US. Something to counter balance Portugal not trying that hard.
Incidentally, Portugal not trying that hard is why I dont mind if the USA and Germany play out a draw. Its not fair but neither is Ghana getting to play a Portugal who doesnt care.
Now my paranoia pendulum has swung the other way and I worry portugal will score a thousand against an indifferent ghana.
Hehe, Ronaldo would love that. Ah man. Dont talk anymore! That attitude is contagious!
What’s the basis for saying Portugal won’t try hard? They still have a chance to advance.
Well, they didnt exactly look excited when they scored the equalizer against us. And they are Eliminated for all practical purposes due to massive goal differential.
That’s pretty silly. They don’t have a great chance but they still have a chance. For example, they beat Ghana 2-0 and we lose 3-0. Not the likeliest results maybe but not totally implausible. And they certainly tried hard enough to score against us.
Wasn’t Muntari on a YC suspension anyway? KPB probably would have played.
Correct, Muntari was out for this game.
Muntari and KPB both out? Who else? Scoreless draw is best scenario for POR-GHA
Right, but he left for good. i.e. if they make it through he won’t play again
Sure, but as a US fan, I don’t really care about Muntari’s future involvement. If I had my way, his team would play his last match today.
There was also a story where Ghana was going to refuse to play the match over having not been paid. However the President of Ghana stepped in and sent 2 million on a plane. There was even a police convoy yesterday Grant Whal and others were tweeting pictures of. Crazy stuff.
It was 3 million in cash, not 2 million.
What’s a million or two between friends, eh?
Anybody else wondering what it would be like to be a high-profile figure (or group) in a country where security conditions may be suspect and to have the entire world know that you just received a huge cash payment?
Seriously… Is the Ghanaian team bus going to stop at the bank on the way to the stadium so that they can deposit that money?
Speaking as a banker, they would have to open an account there, which I doubt they have that bank in Ghana. Also, there’s probably some version of a Brazilian OFAC. Any money of that amount, coming from Africa, would require a lot of paper work and time to clear.
So the news tomorrow will be about an armed robbery during the match at the Ghanaian hotel?
well, since the Germans are all about punctuality this should rattle them nicely going into the game. The anxiety levels will be immense
I hear there has been heavy rain for the last 8 hours that is still falling in Receif, Who do you think that helps? Maybe both sides will take it easier to avoid injury on a sloppy field?
At this point I’m worried that they might not even get the match in… I have a friend in Recife who just sent me a picture and the main roads are turning into rivers and some people are abandoning their cars in the street and trying to walk to the stadium. Hopefully the team buses are already there.
Grant Wahl tweeted that the stadium is fine, so as long as the teams can get there….
The police are probably clearing any open routes for team buses if they are not already there.
It was also raining heavily right before the D-Day Normandy landings
Oh, is this where we start chanting 2 World Wars 1 World cup?
There were 99 German Bombers in the sky…
Though I suppose an Americanized version would be:
There were 99 German fact’ries on the ground… Then the US Army Airforce knocked/blew one down.
Is that where the 99 luft balloons song comes from?
That’s about the Cold War. According to wiki, someone released a bunch of balloons at a Rolling Stones concert in Berlin. The songwright wondered what would happen if they drifted into the Soviet Sector.
99 Aucht ballons.