Team USA and Germany play on Thursday on the World Cup schedule in Group G for the finals match for the two teams before the knockout round starts and the game is live at 12 pm noon on ESPN from Brazil and this match in Recife at Arena Pernambuco will help decide the standings in the group draw along with the game between Portugal and Ghana.
The United States nearly made it into the knockout stage with their game against Portugal, but they could not hold on for the victory and they ended up getting just one point instead of three after giving up a goal in the final seconds. The team came back from a 1-0 deficit and had the lead of 2-1 with seconds left before an amazing cross from Ronaldo to set up the final goal and now the team needs a result to advance into the next round. The United States can still make it into the next round if they lose, but they will need a draw from Ghana and Portugal or an advantage on goal differential and that would also put them through to the round of 16.
The US team made the round of 16 last tournament before losing and now they have the chance to advance out of the Group of Death after most experts did not even expect the team to win a game. Germany is the favorite of the group and both teams can advance with a draw and that has some wondering if both teams will play a conservative style to ensure the result. The team came back from a 1-0 deficit to take the lead heading into extra time and now if the Americans do not make it to the knockout stage, they will thinking about Ronaldo's cross for a long time.
The Americans went down in the first five minutes of the match after Geoff Cameron missed a clear in the defensive zone and Nani wound up with the ball and he put it past Tim Howard for a goal. The United States has shown they do not give up and while they didn't score in the first half, the team came back with a fantastic goal from Jermaine Jones, who turned and froze the Portugal goalie. Graham Zusi set up Clint Dempsey with a great goal after the 80th minute that Dempsey put in off his chest and that gave the US a boost and they looked like the three points were in the bag.....and then Ronaldo.
The United States and Germany play on Thursday and this will be a huge game to see who makes it out of the group of death, as all three teams will be alive on the final day of group play.
Check here for the World Cup schedule for the United States and Germany match.