Things certainly appear to be looking brighter than they have in months for the USMNT.  With a 4-3 win over the Netherlands (the first ever) the US has now won back-to-back games for the first time since June of 2014.  Not only that, but the US in unbeaten in three straight and four of the last five.  That momentum could be key as they now face the reigning world champions, Germany.

On Friday it was the young players that stepped up big for the US, just as Jurgen Klinsmann had hoped.  Gyasi Zardes scored his first international goal as did the oft-criticized Bobby Wood, who endured a miserable club season in the 2. Bundesliga where he was relegated with Erzgebirge Aue down to the 3. Liga.  Michael Bradley also had one of his best performances in a long time and it was his relentlessness that directly contributed to two of the US goals.  On the other hand, Aron Johannsson failed to impress as did John Brooks, who despite scoring a goal, was culpable on both of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s goals.  It was also a bit worrying to see Brad Guzan give up three goals (though truth be told, there was nothing he could have done on any of them).

It wasn’t too long after the Germans hoisted the World Cup at the Maracana that some pundits began asking if the Germans could possibly go on and win Euro 2016 and start a dynasty similar to that of Spain over the last eight years.  While that is a very distinct possibility (they are the Germans after all) the post-World Cup cycle hasn’t gone as well as they could have hoped.  They currently sit in second place in Group D in Euro Qualifying after suffering their first ever loss to Poland, and dropping two points at home to the Republic of Ireland.  The roster they released for this friendly and a Euro qualifier against Gibraltar included a few mild shocks, most notably the absence of keeper/sweeper Manuel Neuer, midfielder Tony Kroos, and star striker Tomas Muller.  However, the Germans will still field a loaded squad featuring Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and the man who scored the World Cup-winning goal, Mario Gotze.

Notes:

  1. The last time the US played against Germany on German soil was a 4-1 loss in 2006 against a German team coached by Jurgen Klinsmann.
  2. This is the third straight year that the US will play Germany(USA won in 2013, Germany won in 2014).
  3. With the games against the Netherlands and Germany, the US will have played five teams ranked in the top 20 so far in 2015 (Chile, Switzerland, Mexico are the other three) with four of those games away from home.

When, Where

6/10/15

RheinEnergieStadion

Cologne, Germany

2:45pm ET

FS1, UniMas

All-Time Series

USA trails 3-7-0

Last Meeting

6/26/14

Arena Pernambuco

Recife, Brazil

0 USA Germany 1

Next Game Up

7/3/15

USA vs. Guatemala

LP Field

Nashville, TN