United States Loses To Germany, Still Advances To Knockout Round
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Most people did not give the U.S. a chance to get through Group G--the 'Group Of Death'--in the 2014 World Cup, but that's exactly what the U.S. Men's National Team did on Thursday afternoon. Despite their 1-0 loss to Germany, the U.S. advanced to the knockout round after Portugal defeated Ghana 2-1, just minutes after the U.S. vs. Germany match ended.
Thomas Muller scored early in the second-half for Germany, which made the difference in the 1-0 win over the U.S.
For Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo broke a 1-1 tie with Ghana in the 80th minute when he ripped a left-footed shot from the center of the box, which gave Portugal a 2-1 lead. Portugal held on to win the match, advancing the U.S.
Portugal and the U.S. finished tied for second place in the group behind Germany, but the U.S.'s better goal differential put them through to the round of 16.
"This is a huge huge step and now we can't wait until round of 16," said U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann after his team's 1-0 loss to Germany. "Everyone said we had no chance, we took the chance and move on. And now we really want to prove a point."
The U.S. will play their first elimination game on Tuesday, July 1st at 4:00pm E.T. against the winner of group H, likely to be Belgium. It is the first time the U.S. has ever advanced to two consecutive knockout rounds.
