WORLD CUP MATCH PREVIEW: US VS. GERMANY

In spite of the last second goal that gave Portugal the equalizer this past Sunday, the US still controls its own destiny in regards to advancing to knockout play when they play Germany on Thursday. While that draw felt more like a loss, the US only needs a draw/win to advance to the next round, and while there are still a few issues that need to be addressed, the squad looked much better this time out than they did against Ghana. So, what must the US do to avoid wasting the golden opportunity that they have at hand?

1. They must keep the offensive pressure going. It was encouraging to see the US command most of the game, especially after the Nani goal only five minutes into the game. While it might be diffuclt against the Germany squad on paper, Ghana looked faster than the Germans during their matchup, and with much on the line, the US will be looking to build upon a strong overall performance.

2. Michael Bradley must pick up his game. We already know about the subpar game he had against Ghana, but until the last goal, Michael Bradley had been putting on a better performance. Still though, he needs to pick up his game because the second goal could had been avoided if Bradley had just kicked the ball towards the Portuguese corner. The defensive lapses cannot be happening, and it’s a guarantee that you most likely won’t be able to get away with it against Germany.

3. The back four needs to show up in this game. Tim Howard has made some incredible saves in the World Cup tournament so far, but it would be relaxing for the defense to at least cut some of those saves in half. It’s been pretty obvious that this has been the weakest link of the team so far, and against an attacking squad like Germany, it will be put to the test once again.

4. DO NOT PLAY FOR THE TIE. The reason I put this one in caps is because over and over again, teams play for the tie or draw and end up losing the game. While the US only needs a draw to advance to the knockout, they must not play defensive all game since Germany has the ability to make big plays and score at will.

While Germany may seem too big of an opponent to handle, the US has proven these last two games that they can definitely handle what’s in front of them and that there’s no opponent too big. I think that both teams will end up advancing at the end of the day.

FINAL SCORE: 2-2

*This article was contributed by Executive Producer Gregory Delaney, and completed before matchplay*