#19-USA

#19-USA
Nickname-Team USA
CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American, and Carribean Association Football)
FIFA Ranking-#13
Group G (Germany, Portugal, United States, Ghana)
Projected Results...
Loss to Germany
Loss to Portugal
Tie to Ghana
Manager- Jurgen Klinsmann
Qualified through 1st place in CONCACAF Hexagonal
10th World Cup Appearance (1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010)

This draw reaaaaaally sucked. Germany and Portugal? Is that a sick joke? Oh boy. I really actually like the way USA has played recently, and it especially sucks for me because I have two rooting interests in this group in Portugal and USA. Portugal and Germany are two top 5 teams in this tournament for me, so I really don't give USA much of a chance to make it out of the knockout stages.  However, I think USA is headed in a great direction. Jurgen Klinsmann is a very good coach, who has instilled belief in his squad. Julian Green is 18 years old, and has played some time with Bayern Munich, the best club in the world at the moment. He chose to play for USA over Germany (he's a dual citizen.) That's a big, big deal.
Here's the deal for USA-they need to get a win against Germany or Portugal.  The problem there is that Portugal has Cristiano Ronaldo, probably the world's best player in the past year. His blazing speed and ability to score from anywhere is going to cause major problems for the USA's back line. Germany has a strong squad with balanced ability at every position, so USA will have a very tough time. And Ghana? They always give USA such a hard time. It's a real shame that this was the draw that USA got, because in most of the other groups I probably would have picked them to go through. But USA will play hard and try to get results like everyone else. Who should we watch for?

Michael Bradley-Bradley has played in the Bundesliga and recently was with AS Roma in the Italian Serie A until transferring to Toronto FC in January. Bradley is an attacking midfielder who has the spectacular goal in him, and is very good at distributing passes to open space for teammates. Bradley is going to be so important to Team USA if they are to make it out of the group. Aged 26 with 83 appearances and 12 goals.

Clint Dempsey-The best striker option Team USA has, and he had played in the Premier League from 2007-2014 with Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. Now Clint plays for Seattle Sounders in the MLS. Dempsey is a scrappy striker who is great at holding up play to open up space for others, but he can pot goals in big situations. I expect him to net a goal in the tournament, and I expect him to be effective, since this may be his last World Cup. He's 31, with over 100 appearances and 36 goals.

Tim Howard-He is one of the better goalies in the tournament, and he's so intense. He plays for Everton in the Premier League, and is a big reason for their success this season. He can help USA steal a game here, so I look for him to be massive for them. 97 appearances for USA, and aged 35, it could be his last World Cup.

USA will need to steal a game. I don't see it happening, but I hope they beat Germany and they and Portugal advance. We'll see...Go USA!