Portugal and Ghana are playing live on the World Cup schedule Thursday for the final Group G match on ESPN and WatchESPN live from Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in Brasilia and the game is on ESN2 as the USA and Germany game is on ESPN in Brazil and this will help decide who makes it to the knockout stage after Cristiano Ronaldo kept his team alive against the United States.
Portugal was hit hard in their first game against Germany and they barely made it to a draw against the United States and now they are still alive to advance, but they will need some help in doing it. Germany and the United States can advance with a draw in their match, while the Americans can also advance with a loss depending on how the Portugal and Ghana matchup turns out, as they are leading in points and goal differential right now. Some have speculated that the United States and Germany will play to a draw, but the Americans do not want to leave anything to chance when it comes to advancing and they may play to try and win.
Germany was the favorite for this group and now they are tied with the United States on points heading into this final game and really the Americans should be through to the next stage already had the officials actually calked the proper stoppage time, but that's football. Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey have to keep things going for the Americans and now Portugal will be tested, as Ghana is a solid team and the two nations are fighting to stay alive in the tournament.
The United States and Portugal game was a wild matchup that saw early goals, lead changes and late scores as well and it created a situation on Thursday where everyone in the group is alive heading into the games. The way this group shook out is the reason why they play these final group games all at once, as FIFA doesn't want any funny business and naturally the irony of that is not lost on anyone and now Germany and the United States will try and complete their runs into the round of 16. The group of death was as tough as everyone thought, but the United States played better than anyone gave them credit for and now they have to find a way to take care of business.
The United States and Germany have the advantage to get to the next stage and they will need to finish off this game well and they are in Recife and the weather is a mess and the rain is coming down. The pitch will be a bit slick and now both teams have to deal with that and Ghana comes into their match with two players dismissed and that could be a factor for this matchup on Thursday.
Check here for the Portugal and Ghana live coverage for Group G in the World Cup from Brazil.
