USA vs Germany: Americans Defeat Defending World Cup Champs, 2-1

In the USA vs. Germany soccer match, the Americans surprised the defending German national team, winning 2-1 in a men’s friendly match in RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany.

According to the Bleacher Report, the American national team came from behind for the second consecutive game. Last Friday, the Americans fell behind to the Netherlands national team, 3-1, before putting on a furious rush and winning the game, 4-3. The American national soccer team had never defeated the Netherlands.

True to form, the Americans fell behind the German nationals 1-0 in the 12th minute of the USA vs Germany match. The German team pressed the Americans early and often, rarely leaving the American side of the pitch. The German’s plan paid dividends, as Patrick Hermann blew past three American defensemen and crossed to Mario Gotze to the left, who then pushed the ball past American goalie Brad Guzan for a 1-0 Germany lead.

The Germans could have had a 2-0 lead earlier as Gotze’s pass to Mesut Ozil left Ozil in the clear, but he directed his shot directly at goalie Guzan.

Slowly but surely, Jurgen Klinsmann’s American side started playing back into the USA vs Germany match. They still had difficulty creating scoring changes, but they were getting the ball out of their side of the pitch, opening up the field.

The Oregonian is reporting that in the 41st minute of the USA vs Germany match, the American side finally broke through. Just before the end of the first half, American Mix Diskerud took a beautiful long pass from American team captain Michael Bradley and beat German goalie Ron-Robert Zieler to even the match, 1-1.

The Americans had an unbelievable chance at the 83rd minute when captain Michael Bradley shot on goal, forcing Zieler to make a brilliant kick save, keeping the score at 1-1.

At this point, the Americans had played the possession and placement of the ball evenly after scoring their first goal. The Americans seemed to have the Germans off-kilter, the number one-ranked team in the world seemed somewhat disoriented. Then, came the 87th minute.

In that 87th minute, Bobby Wood, a second-half replacement for the American national team, took the ball to the top of the box, and deftly placed a left-footed shot past Zieler to take a 2-1 lead for the Americans. The American national team was then able to kill off the remaining minutes and injury time to secure the win. It was the American’s first win on German soil.

The American national team will next host Guatemala in a men’s friendly game at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 3 at 5:30 CST.

[Image courtesy of the Bleacher Report]