by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jun 10, 2015

USA-GERMANY EXPRESS:

June 10 in Cologne

Germany 1 USA 2.

Bobby Wood

Mix Diskerud

Goals: Goetze 12; Diskerud 41, Wood 87.40,348.--------------------------------------------The USA stunned reigning World Cup champion Germany, 2-1, Tuesday in Cologne to complete a sweep of European powers. Like against the Netherlands on Friday, the Americans came from behind to win, and the unlikely hero off the bench was. Germany took the early lead but the Americans equalized late in the first half on a goal bythat capped a 30-pass sequence. They carried that momentum into the second half during which they were the better team.

U.S. Player Ratings

STARTERS:

7 Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/ENG), 30/0. Sharp first-half saves on Mario Goetze and Mesut Ozil to keep the game close. Tough catch under pressure stymied Germany in stoppage time.



5 Tim Chandler (Nuremberg/GER) 21/0. Left the back post open on Germany’s first goal and gave Goetze way too much time and space to put it away. Changed to left back for the second half and hit a good cross that Johannsson swung on and missed.



5 Ventura Alvarado (Club America/MEX) 5/0. Slow to close down German attackers in the box and caught a couple of times trying to play the offside trap. Stretched by the guile and pace of Patrick Hermann but looked much more secure in the second half. In stoppage time he cut out a low cross at the near post and lost an aerial duel.



7 John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/GER) 12/2. Stuck out a foot several times to block threatening passes near the edge of the penalty area. Very strong and confident in the second half.



5 Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER) 32/1. Used space on the left flank to serve a couple of dangerous balls and including a driven near-post cross the U.S. nearly turned into a shot.



4 Danny Williams (Reading/ENG), 16/1. Not quite quick enough to intervene as Germany swept forward on the break but won a few duels. Cautioned for late tackle and came off at halftime.



7 Mix Diskerud (New York City FC) 30/6. Weak challenge on Hermann allowed him to set up Germany’s first goal. Scored excellent goal for U.S. by running onto chip from Bradley and chesting it down to nail it first-time on the bounce. Created chance for Zardes with nice chip from close range.



8 Michael Bradley (Toronto FC) 98/13. Surged through the right channel from midfield to play the ball wide for Chandler to cross. Lofted a great ball from the right side that Diskerud took on his chest and banged into the net. Force a solid save on his attempt at an olimpico. Surged forward to crack a hard, low shot that forced an excellent save.



6 Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy) 7/1. Pierced the right side but fired over the bar from about 20 yards. Ran onto a ball from Diskerud to challenge keeper without getting a clean shot. Moved up to forward in the second half to trouble Germany with his energy and pace.



6 Aron Johannsson (AZ/NED) 20/3. Went wide right several times in the first half to threaten and aided in a buildup with a clever back heel. Whiffed on a nice serve from Chandler in the 65th minute.



3 Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution) 20/3. Struggled with his hold up play. Got behind German defenders a couple of times but wasn’t able to free himself to take a crack at goal.



SUBSTITUTES:

6 Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), 45/1. Slotted neatly into the holding/supplying role and gave balance to the midfield behind Bradley.



7 DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham/ENG), 12/0. Broke forward in the first minute after coming on after the break to deliver a cross from near the goal line and slowed the German attempts to come down his side. Cut back a ball for Bradley to fire on goal. Cautioned for late and needless slide tackle.



7 Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), 19/1. Gave his usual dose of grit and ruggedness while chasing down Jonas Hector and Ozil. Nicked ball away from Lucas Podolski at the very last second. Crisp pass to Wood provided him the chance to win the game.



6 Alfredo Morales (FC Ingolstadt/GER), 10/0. Good block stopped his shot from the edge of the penalty area. Nice pass set Bradley free to launch attack in the 82nd minute.



7 Bobby Wood (Erzgebirge Aue/GER), 7/2. Came into the match ready to contribute and got in a good touch that opened up the German back line. Scored superb goal by turning with the ball and belting a low-left footer from 25 yards out.



6 Jordan Morris (Stanford University), 5/1. Narrowly missed with a first time strike just seconds after coming off the bench. Dummy run gave Wood a bit more space to exploit for the winning goal.



(1=low; 5=average; 10=high.)



June 10 in Cologne

Germany 1 USA 2. Goals: Goetze 12; Diskerud 41, Wood 87.

Germany -- Zieler; Rudy, Mustafi, Ruediger, Hector; Schweinsteiger (Khedira 46), Guendogan (Kramer 46); Herrmann (Bellarabi 73), Ozil, Schuerrle (Podolski 46), Goetze (Kruse 73).

USA -- Guzan; Chandler, Alvarado, Brooks, Johnson (Evans 46); Williams (Beckerman 46), Zardes (Morris 74), Diskerud (Morales 74), Bradley; Johannsson (Wood 74), Agudelo (Yedlin 46).

Att: 40,348.



TRIVIA. The USA beat a reigning World Cup champion for only a second time. It beat Brazil, 1-0, in the semifinals of the 1998 Gold Cup.