The United States reached the 2014 World Cup second round despite suffering a 1-0 defeat against Germany.
For the Yanks this is the first time they have been able to reach the knockout stage for two consecutive World Cups.
The U.S. will play against Belgium, Russia or Algeria in the next round.
“This is a huge huge step,” U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann told reporters after the match.
Germany started the game controlling both ball and tempo but the Americans didn’t struggled playing a defensive-oriented game. After a good first half, the USA lost control of the spaces between the midfield and the backline, allowing Germans to take the lead, courtesy of Thomas Muller’s goal in the 55th minute.
Germany continued to orchestrate the play with Klinsmann’s side rarely threatening an equalizer. At the end, the result was a loss on the paper but the game’s consequences were more important.
Player ratings: (0-10)
G Tim Howard, 7 – His performance was impressive as he looked solid in every situations. He made a great save from Per Mertesacker, but there was nothing he could do against with Muller’s following shot.
D DaMarcus Beasley, 6.5 – Nice display, consistent and good with the ball on his feet.
D Matt Besler, 6.5 – A good defensive showing from the youngster.
D Omar Gonzalez, 7.5 – Started badly but recovered as the game went on. An impressive performance, dominating in the box.
D Fabian Johnson, 6 – Some initial difficulty defending against Lukas Podolski followed by a decent second half.
M Kyle Beckerman, 6 – Did what he was expected to do protecting the backline. Good distribution, as usual.
M Jermaine Jones, 7 – With Gonzalez, Jones has been the MVP of the squad. Excellent with his tackling, he also contributed to add some attacking flair going forward.
M Brad Davis, 5.5 – Not a great performance although he rarely got time to use the ball.
M Michael Bradley, 5.5 – Not so good as in other matches, and found the German midfield hard to contain.
M Graham Zusi, 5.5 – Not good enough, ineffective both with and without the ball.
F Clint Dempsey, 6 – Problems with the link-up play with the midfielders. Being left alone up front didn’t help.
Subs:
M Alejandro Bedoya, 6 – Good effort coming from the bench.
M DeAndre Yedlin, 6 – Contributed in the final minutes.
