It was a little less than one year ago that the US national team faced off with Germany in Recife. That game ended with a 1-0 German victory, with the scoreline flattering the Americans.
Germany controlled 67.1 percent of the possession and didn't allow the US a shot on target, the eventual champions playing through wet and wild conditions in one of many dominant victories during the tournament.
Jurgen Klinsmann's team will look to get some measure of revenge against the country of his birth Wednesday afternoon in Cologne (2:45 pm ET; FOX Sports 1, UniMás, UDN).
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GAINING MOMENTUM: In what was one of the most thrilling games in USMNT history, the Americans beat the Netherlands last Friday in a rousing 4-3 result. Danny Williams and Bobby Wood scored the equalizer and the winner in the closing moments to earn the USMNT's first-ever win against the Netherlands. USMNT have beaten Germany before, three times in fact, as recently as June 2013 when Clint Dempsey scored two goals to lead the US to a 4-3 triumph. However, they'll be looking for their first win in Germany in their third attempt.
CENTER BACK ISSUES: The US may have won in Amsterdam, but it wasn't a perfect performance by any means, with inexperience at center back an issue for much of the match. With Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron away from the team, John Brooks and Ventura Alvarado started the match in the middle. The two young defenders struggled to communicate at times and lost Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on a few occasions, leading to his first goal in the 27th minute. Things didn't get much better with the insertion of Michael Orozco for Alvarado to start the second half, as the US gave up two quick goals.
Against Germany, all three have an opportunity to prove the game against the Netherlands was an aberration and that they deserve to be in the team's plans going forward.
BUDDY, BUDDY: The story has been told many times. Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Low helped rebuild German soccer together. Klinsmann led Germany to the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup on home soil before leaving the program. Low took over from there and led Die Mannschaft all the way to the top. Low even thanked Klinsmann after Germany lifted the trophy in Brazil. The two men shared a podium on Tuesday for a press conference and exchanged pleasantries, offering praise for their respective team's performances.
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