U.S. Men’s National Team v. Germany, Recife, Brazil, 6.26.14

The U.S. played a conservative, mostly ugly game in their 1-0 loss to Germany today, but even a loss was good enough to see them through to the knockout round of the 2014 World Cup. The U.S.’s group has repeatedly been referred to as the “group of death,” a tired, misleading term that implies one group has been allotted fewer spots in the next round than the others. Here’s to hoping (however futilely) that this overused, overblown phrase loses traction before the 2018 World Cup.

To return to the subject of Group G: The Yanks’ chances did indeed look grim back in December when their opening-round opponents were announced. And yet now, after the games have actually been played, the U.S. can feel pretty fortunate that it belonged to a group in which one team was hampered by an unusually high number of injuries (Portugal) and another by player dissention and mismanagement (Ghana, rather like France four years ago). (This Washington Post piece summarizes the bizarre events surrounding the Black Stars over the last week, including a player slapping a member of team management and chasing him around a hotel with broken bottles, and Ghana’s president authorizing the air shipment of $3 million in cash to the team’s disgruntled players.)

The group, in other words, looks a lot less menacing now than it did in December, and the U.S. was able to advance on the strength of a mere four points and a superior goal differential to Portugal. Even given the mitigating factors, though, the U.S. deserves much credit for advancing. To begin with the obvious: Jermaine Jones has kept his temper in check and been a massive positive influence on the team. He had another strong game today, his third in a row. Not only was he more involved in the attack than lone striker Clint Dempsey (Jones twice nearly latched on to long balls after getting behind the German defense), he continued to act as a composed destroyer, which is to say (now that I mention it) that he continued to act German. I was particularly impressed when, shortly before halftime, he drew a foul on Bastian Schweinsteiger and in the aftermath refused to be baited by Schweinsteiger, who stood over Jones and (I think) intentionally entangled his legs with Jones’s.

And then there’s coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who continued his run of effective lineup changes. Most surprisingly, he started Omar Gonzalez over regular center back Geoff Cameron. Given Cameron’s poor performance against Portugal, this is perhaps not a huge surprise, but Gonzalez had been in poor form going into camp, saw very little action in the three World Cup tune-up matches, and played a total of three minutes in the first two World Cup games. And those three minutes included Portugal’s last-gasp equalizer, for which some felt Gonzalez was at least partly to blame. Furthermore, given Klinsmann’s penchant for players from European leagues, one would have expected Cameron (who plays in England) to start over Gonzalez (who plays in MLS). But Klinsmann again defied expectations. Gonzalez went the full 90 minutes against Germany, and justified his coach’s decision by making some timely clearances and turning in one of the best U.S. performances of the night.

Klinsmann’s other surprise substitute against Germany was Brad Davis, who played ahead of Alejandro Bedoya. Davis was not the revelation Gonzalez was against Germany; in fact he was largely a nonfactor. Bedoya came on for him in the last 30 minutes and was his usual active self. He even got a good look at goal in stoppage time, but his shot was blocked. Though he’s had a quiet tournament so far, I like Bedoya’s game, especially his defense and his ability to create chances for his teammates. (Regrettably, he’s particularly good at linking up with the absent Landon Donovan.) He’s a sometimes-overlooked player who is due for a good game against Belgium, and I think he’ll regain his starting spot against them.

Another U.S. player due for a good game is Michael Bradley. But he continues to struggle in this World Cup. He looked frustrated against Germany, trying to will himself into the game by applying high pressure that was frequently ineffective. He also had a number of giveaways. Had the U.S. been eliminated today, his overall performance probably would have ranked with Donovan’s disappointing 2006 World Cup. But of course Bradley has a chance to redeem himself against Belgium, and I don’t see a player of his quality and determination having four dud performances in a row.