Back in 2006, we saw the USA team exit the World Cup in the group stage were they were seeded with Italy, Czech Republic and Ghana in Group E and saw them losing to Ghana 2-1. They kissed their dreams of winning the World Cup very early in the stage. In 2010, we saw them be seeded in Group C along with England, Slovenia and Algeria. They tied with England, Slovenia and got a late goal in the match against Algeria to advance to the knockout stage of the world cup in South Africa. Again, we saw United States face Ghana in the Round of 16 and sadly saw them losing in extra time 2-1, once again ending the dream of winning a World Cup.
Two times, we saw the Yanks end their road to winning the cup very early in the stage, both times being beaten by Ghana.
It’s 2014, and Team USA seems to be in the same boat, again. This time, hoping to beat their rivals in the group stage and gain 3 points. Team USA was seeded in Group G, which is also known as the group of death. USA along with Germany, Portugal and Ghana all have the same dream of advancing to the next round and getting closer to winning the World Cup. The Yanks haven’t been lucky though in the tournament. They will have to face Ghana, who defeated them twice in the last two-World Cups, Germany, who is a favorite in winning it all and a very strong and young team coached under Joachim Low and Portugal who have Cristiano Ronaldo. So this task won’t be an easy one for the United States but under the hands of Jurgen Klinsmann, the coach and team believe that they can make it far into the knockout stage. But how did the USA team make it here?
Ranking 13th in FIFA ranking positions, the Yanks didn’t have a tough road to Brazil. They were placed in Group A in the third round of qualifying for the World Cup. Along with Jamaica, Guatemala, and Antigua and Barbuda, the Yanks had 4 wins, a tie, and one loss against Jamaica. This gave them a total of 13 points and helped them advance to the hexagonal stage of the qualifications. In the fourth round, we saw a USA team under the hands of Jurgen Klinsmann after coach Bradley announced his resignment of the club. We saw them loss their first match against Honduras 2-1 but after that we saw coach Klinsmann test out old and new players. From there on we saw them win 7 games, losing 1 and tying against Mexico. With this we saw a USA team that was unstoppable and ended first in the table with 22 points.
Today, we see a USA team without their star player Landon Donovan, meaning that this could be a new era for them and allowing the youngsters to shine in this World Cup and see what this team is surely made of.
Prediction: The USA team is filled with many young and new players that many people aren’t familiar with. For sure, Klinsmann will start Everton’s Tim Howard as goalkeeper with Omar Gonzalez, DaMarcus Beasley, Matt Besler and DeAndre Yedlin in the back defending. In the middle we will see Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones and Julian Green with Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Chris Wondolowski in the front.
The Yanks will have face a very tough Ghana team but they hope to secure the win. I predict that team USA will come out with the win, 2-1 and securing the three points in Group G. Team USA will go against Ghana in Estadio das Dunas in Natal, Brazil and kickoff will commence at 6PM ET/3PM PT.