USA

So what a super exciting game yesterday. Obviously the US fans are disappointed, since we came 30 seconds from a great win and a spot in the next round. It is strange how these things work. If the US had scored the equalizer 30 seconds before the end, the fans would be ecstatic. Yet here we are with the same result and we are down. The US gave up a stupid goal in the first few minutes and then struggled to get the lead the rest of the game. In some ways, conceding the early goal was good for the US. It opened up play and allowed the US to show what they can do. The US looked dangerous at times, and outside the early mistake, the defense looked solid. When the 2 US goals came, they felt deserved, but Portugal showed their class, and even though they were 2ounded and playing chase most of the afternoon, they did not give up. Following a mistake from Bradley at midfield (I thought Bradley played a weak game all day), they found the one moment of skill at the very end to tie the game.
  So what now? The US has numerous ways to progress...and a few ways to be eliminated.  Lets look at how scoring in the group stage is calculated. A team gets 3 points for a win, and 1 for a tie, and 0 for a loss. At the end of group play, if two teams finish with the same points, than the first tie breaker is goal differential, and the second is goals scored. So a 2-0 win is better than a 1-0 win, and a 2-2 tie, is better than a 0-0 tie. Head to head play does not come into the tiebreaker.
   The USA's next game is against Germany who have the same number of points as the US, but are ahead on goal differential. Both teams have 4 points. Ghana and Portugal each have 1 point.  If either the US or Germany win the last game, they win the group. The loser would have 4 points. If one of the teams in the Ghana/Portugal game wins, they will have 4 points. So the tiebreaker will depend goals scored. If the Ghana/Portugal game ends in a tie, then both Germany and the US advance no matter what. Also, if the US/Germany game ends in a tie, than they both advance with 5 points. The games are played simultaneously in a hopes to avoid match fixing. So this leaves the question, should the US and Germany just play for a tie? I would say yes. Being aggressive and fighting for the win, leaves you exposed and open to losing. If the goal is to win the WC, than advancing is the goal.  It is really not a lot different than a team resting their players in the last games of a season once they made the playoffs. Why risk it, whether you are Germany or USA? I know it is not a popular view, but I hope to see the worlds most boring 0-0 tie on Thursday.