Group G was labeled as the “group of death” at the World Cup when the draw was released, and it is living up to the hype as all four teams still have a chance to go through heading into the final match. The frontrunners, Germany and the United States, square off and a draw would put both through.
World Cup Odds: Germany -155, United States +900, Draw +185
Why The United States Can Win
The Americans don’t need a lot of chances to score because Clint Dempsey can put away the slightest of them and that always gives the United States a shot. Dempsey has scored twice so far at the World Cup and while most strikers aren’t captains, Dempsey leads from the front. Germany’s defense can be stretched as they have shown, and Dempsey is wily enough to find the seams, but he’ll need to get support from Michael Bradley, who played better against Portugal, but still wasn’t great.
The United States’ defense has struggled throughout the tournament and they allowed a late goal to Portugal as they were 30 seconds away from going through. If they put too many men forward, it won’t be pretty. They also have motivation from manager Jurgen Klinsmann, one of Germany’s most decorated players and he also managed them to third at the 2006 World Cup, putting the system in place that current manager Joachim Low has used. Many of the American players have ties to Germany, so this will be a special game.
Why Germany Can Win
If Germany plays like the team that stomped Portugal and came into the World Cup as one of the favorites to win it all, they can beat anyone in the world. The key seems to be in midfield, where Germany likes to control and pass the ball around. Bastian Schweinsteiger helped spark the Germans when they were down 2-1 to Ghana and he could earn a spot in the starting 11, but with Germany using only three midfielders, there aren’t many spots open. The Germans also have plenty of options up front with Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze and Mesut Ozil, but it doesn’t hurt to have Miroslav Klose on the bench; he came on to score his 15th World Cup goal, tying him with Brazil’s Ronaldo for the most in the tournament’s history.
Germany’s defense has been shockingly bad at times and they could have easily given up two or three more to Ghana. They’ll have to watch that against the Americans.
Outlook
The Germans have won six and lost three of their nine meetings with the Americans, and they eliminated them at the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, which is the furthest that the United States have ever gone at this tournament. This doesn’t seem like a match that will end in a draw, but it also won’t be a wide-open game as neither team will want things to get out of hand. Germany pulls out a narrow win to take Group G.
Pick: Germany
