The United States pulled off a remarkable 4-3 victory over powerhouses Germany, thanks to a double from Clint Dempsey in an international friendly in Washington.
In a game which saw plenty of goalmouth action at the Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, the U.S. stunned the Germans in front of a packed crowd of nearly 50,000.
Jozy Altidore - his first goal in 19 months -- opened the scoring for the U.S. in Washington, hitting a brilliant first-time volley off a cross from Graham Zusi.
An own goal from Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen then bulged the Americans' lead by 2-0 in the 16th minute, with the youngster failing to hold onto a backpass from Benedikt Howedes.
Heiko Westermann reduced the deficit for Germany early in the second half, only for Clint Dempsey to seemingly put the game to bed with two quickfire goals.
Germany, without their star players from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, refused to lie down with Max Kruse and Julian Draxler making it 4-3 with ten minutes remaining.
However, the home side, who lost to Belgium 4-2 last week, withstood the pressure in the final moments to come away with a dramatic victory and give Jurgen Klinsmann and co. some breathing room ahead of a couple of crucial World Cup qualifiers.
"The biggest thing was creating chances," Altidore said. "Today (Sunday) was huge in terms of the amount of the opportunities we created, how aggressive we were going forward, and I think that was the difference.
"We've always had the talent, but it was a matter of showing it, and today, we showed signs of that.
"I honestly felt like I've been doing the right things, it was just a matter of being patient and waiting for the chances. Against Belgium, I was unlucky.
"I had a very similar chance, but (Vincent) Kompany had nicked it with his head and caught me off balance. Today (Sunday), I had the chance, I just concentrated on it. I know that if I keep getting them I can be successful."
Dempsey said his side can now take the confidence into the next round of matches.
"It's refreshing for the team to win, I'd say that's the most important thing, but it's always good when you have people scoring goals, because it gives more confidence to the team and that's what you want moving forward," the Tottenham forward said.
Klinsmann feels Dempsey and Altidore can form a potent partnership up front. "Jozy can learn so much from Clint and is learning," the former German international said. "They will start to have chemistry, they will start to have an instinct for each other, but that comes by time, that's not coming overnight."
