Complete and utter domination saw Germany capture the 1-0 victory over the United States Men’s National Team on Thursday.
Early on, the ball claimed residence in the defensive half of the United States. The first 15 minutes of the game seemed like a light training for Germany more than anything. They had the speed, the communication and the plays. It looked like Germany was going to slaughter the USMNT. 0-0 was the score at half time and if it wasn’t for Tim Howard, it would have been Germany with a few goals.
In the second half, both teams came out looking for the ball. Germany, of course, dominated once more. The tied game broke after Muller scored a beautiful goal after Tim Howard had originally rejected the ball. As a goalkeeper, you must hold on to the ball or reject it where it’s safe. Howard failed to do either one of those in the 55th minute. A superb save of a header from Per Mertesacker was parried directly to the right foot of Muller, that would score with ease.
The rest is just history. The United States had little, if anything to offer from there after the Germans took the 1-0 lead. Thomas Muller is in great form entering this World Cup, giving Germany the victory over US and topping Group G.
The United States’ euphoria will be brief. The team wasn’t prepared for this game. Making a lot of mistakes and defending a lot, you could see that the guys were nervous. With Belgium on the horizon, the team must open up more, shake off the nerves and play a great game because Belgium’s attack qualities will be too much to contain.
Germany will travel to Porto Alegre to meet the runner-up of Group H on June 30th, while the U.S will visit Salvador to face Belgium on July 1st.
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