USA vs Germany - What can we expect - Preview and prediction

Modified Jun 26, 2014 12:00 GMT

USA vs Germany

The unofficial ‘Group of Death’ has finally reached judgment day. The group is still wide open and any team can qualify for the round of 16. USA will take on Germany; a draw will take both teams through to the round of 16. At the same time, Ghana will be up against Portugal in the other match and both these teams will go all out against each other hoping for a favorable result in the USA – Germany match.

Venue

The match will be played in the newly constructed Arena Pernambuco stadium which has a capacity of 42,610 located in the city of Recife. The city is one of the wettest regions in Brazil and we can expect high humidity with a 90% chance of rain today which means both teams may play safe to avoid injuries to their players.

Kickoff Time

June 26 – 09:30 pm (IST)

June 26 – 01:00 pm (Local Time)

Possible Starting Line ups

USA will most likely miss striker Jozy Altidore again which prompts that Klinsmann may once again opt for a 4-2-3-1 setup with Clint Dempsey up front. Germany however has no injury worries; they possess an enviable attacking unit who will cause major problems to the US defense.

USA (4-2-3-1): Howard, Beasley, Besler, Cameron, Johnson, Beckerman, Jones, Bradley, Bedoya, Zusi, Dempsey (c).

Germany (4-3-3): Neuer, Boateng, Mertesacker, Hummels, Höwedes, Kroos, Khedira, Lahm (c), Ozil, Muller, Gotze.

Key Facts and Stats

- Their last 9 encounters have not produced a single draw.

- USA has never scored a single goal against Germany in a FIFA world cup match; they have played each other only twice before.

- USA has scored a goal in their last eight FIFA world cup matches.

- Germany lost their previous encounter to the USA: 4-3, with Clint Dempsey scoring a brace.

- Germany has lost only one of their last twenty group stage matches in the FIFA world cup.

- Apart from the head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, there are five more German born players in team USA: Jermain Jones, Fabian Johnson, Timmy Chandler, John Brooks and Julian Green.

Key Battles

Thomas Mueller vs. Matt Besler

Miroslav Klose may have equaled Ronaldo’s world cup goal scoring record, but Loew most likely will stick with Mueller as their main man up front. Thomas Mueller has been in sublime form scoring a hat-trick in the first game against Portugal. USA’s defense has been their biggest problem and Mueller will be looking to take advantage of their shaky defense.

Together with Tim Howard, Matt Besler has been their best bet in the defense. There were injury worries for Matt Besler when he looked to be in some pain in the second half against Portugal, but the good news is he has passed the fitness test and will be on the field covering Mueller.

Clint Dempsey vs. Mats Hummels

With Jozy Altidore out injured, Clint Dempsey has been more than a handful up-front as the lone striker. Although playing as a lone striker may be new to Dempsey he has been in good goalscoring form having scored in both the group stage matches. USA will be relying heavily on Dempsey to breach the German defense with his pace and agility.

The German center-back Mats Hummels is fit and ready to feature in the match and he will be very vital in what has been a fragile German defense. Nobody expected Ghana to score two goals against Germany which would give the US strike force the much needed confidence to test the German defense. Hummels is not only a strong defender, but can also be a danger during set-pieces.

Prediction

Germany is the well-rested among the two teams and obviously a much stronger side as well. They may be the favorites to win the match however Ghana earlier has exposed the weakness in German defense scoring twice. German attack will be too much to handle for the shaky US defense, but I predict the in-form Tim Howard will be difficult to beat.

USA 1 – 1 Germany