Jurgen Klinsmann hugged his Germany counterpart and former assistant Joachim Loew after the final whistle to their 1-0 loss at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife.
The two old-mates, who guided Germany to the semi-finals of the 2006 edition on home soil, fancied they were both headed for the last 16 regardless of the scoreline, after Ghana failed to beat Portugal on the last day of Group G actions.
Klinsmann knew before kick-off that a draw with ‘Die Mannschaft’ is the surest bet against a group stage elimination, and was satisfied at the break to have scaled the first hurdle without conceding.
Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Loew in their Days In Charge of Germany Team.
But Thomas Muller gifted the Germans the win ten minutes after the interval, when he effortlessly steered into the far corner from 20 yards, a rebound of Per Matersacker’s header.
“It’s huge for us to reach the last-16,” Klinsmann, a former World Cup winner with Germany, who scored 38 international goals, said on his side reaching the last 16 of the World Cup for a second successive time.
“We wanted at least a tie out of the game and maybe at the beginning we had too much respect.
United States Supporters at Copacabana Beach in Brazil.
The match, beamed live across the States- lunchtime on the east coast- attracted much support from the American people, from New York State governor Andrew Cuomo, who had responded to Klinsmann’s request for employers to give their staff an extended lunch break to ‘guess who?’ Hulk Hogan, the wrestling superstar who sent his good luck message prior to kick-off.
Cheering on Team #USA in the #WorldCup! #USAvGER http://ift.tt/1m0I5Gw @ESPN #HowAreYouWatching
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 26, 2014
Even President Barrack Obama watched the game on board Air Force One with his senior adviser at the White House Valerie Jarrett.
We could not be prouder of them. … They are defying the odds and earned a lot of believers in the process… President Barrack Obama on the USMNT progress to the last-16 of the 2014 World Cup.
President Obama watches the USA vs Germany World Cup game aboard Air Force One enroute to Minneapolis. #worldcup http://ift.tt/1jnQWwf
— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) June 26, 2014
On the pitch Klismann’s side contested for virtually every piece of the ball but failed to threaten, while Germany playing their traditional passing game comfortably opened up the chances.
Toronto Raptors midfielder Michael Bradley created the USA’s best opportunity of the game, finding Kansas City forward Graham Zusi, whose shot curled narrowly over the bar.
Moments before half-time, a poor touch prevented Bradley from making the best of a shooting opportunity.
Jurgen Klinsman Says the USA Wants to Prove a Point.
At the other end, Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng thrice found space wide on the right flank, only to lay fierce low crosses into the penalty area.
Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil came closest to scoring, stepping away from Matt Besler’s challenge to test USA goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Miroslav Klose also came close to breaking the record of the highest goals scored by a player at the World Cup, but couldn’t get enough on his header after losing his marker to meet a Muller clipped cross.
Thomas Muller Scores His Fifth Goal of the World Cup.
“Overall there was tremendous energy and effort from all of the side,” added Klinsmann. “It’s huge for us to get out of group – everyone said we had no chance but we took that chance. Now we want to prove a point.”
Germany will meet runners-up of Group H, Algeria, while the United States of America face Belgium in the round of 16.
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