Germany beat the U.S. 1-0 in their Group G match Thursday. But the Americans made it through the Group of Death anyway because Cristiano Ronaldo put in a late goal against Ghana for a 2-1 Portugal victory.The Americans' likely opponent next week is Belgium, which has already secured a spot out of Group H. The final Group H games are Friday. Belgium will win the group with a win or draw against South Korea, or a loss combined with a loss or draw by Algeria against Russia. It will finish second in the group with a loss combined with an Algeria win over Russia.
There were many empty seats in the Arena Pernambuco when the match kicked off but fans streamed in during the first half, apparently delayed by traffic jams as torrential rain flooded parts of this northeastern Brazilian city. Germany was quicker off the mark and Tim Howard intercepted a low cross from Lukas Podolski before Michael Bradley made a good clearance and Omar Gonzales defended well to deny Thomas Mueller a shot from close range. Howard's 103th cap was a record for a U.S. goalkeeper and he did well to stop Mesut Ozil's shot in the 35th minute.