On Thursday evening, the group stage of the World Cup will end. The last match was played by the G group teams. Competing for the first place were the Germany national team coached by Joachim Low and the USA team led by former colleague Jurgen Klinsmann, while Ghana and Portugal fought for the last spot in the quarterfinals.
The first match between Germany and the USA national teams was quite slow. "Die Mannschaft" controlled the ball a lot and created positional attacks, but their opponents defended well.
The game changed in the second half when Miroslav Klose was released onto the field. The record-breaking goal was scored by the veteran just 10 minutes after entering the field.
However, it wasn't Klose who scored. Per Mertesacker headed the ball into the net after a corner kick, and Tim Howard blocked his attempt, but the ball dropped right to the feet of Thomas Muller, who scored with a great shot from afar, beating the "Everton" goalkeeper.
After this goal, the Germany national team started to dominate - Low's players created dangerous attacks, while the Americans tried to utilize their counterattacks.
But they were unsuccessful, and the Germans celebrated a minimal victory with a score of 1 - 0.
In the other match, the Portugal national team defeated Ghana with a score of 2 - 1, but it wasn't enough for Paulo Bento's team to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Portugal took the lead in the 30th minute after an own goal by John Boye, but Asamoah Gyan equalized at the beginning of the second half.
As the match approached the end, in the 80th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo, the star of Madrid's "Real," scored his first and last goal in this championship. However, such victory was not enough, and the USA national team moved on to the next stage.
Results:
USA 0 - 1 Germany
55' [0 - 1] T.Muller
Portugal 2 - 1 Ghana
30' [1 - 0] J.Boye (own goal)
57' [1 - 1] A.Gyan
80' [2 - 1] C.Ronaldo
Starting lineups:
Portugal: Beto, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Miguel Veloso, William Carvalho, Ronaldo (c), Moutinho, Eder, Nani, Amorim, Pereira
Ghana: Dauda, Gyan (c), Atsu, Agyemang Badu, A. Ayew, Rabiu, Waris, Mensah, Asamoah, Boye, Afful
USA: Howard, Gonzalez, Bradley, Besler, Beasley, Dempsey (c), Jones, Davis, Beckerman, Zusi, Johnson
Germany: Neuer, Howedes, Hummels, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Podolski, Muller, Lahm (c), Mertesacker, Kroos, Boateng
Standings:
1. Germany 3 7 +5
2. USA 3 4 0
3. Portugal 3 4 -3
4. Ghana 3 1 -2
