Fans react as the U.S. almost scores a last-minute goal to tie during a screening of the USA vs Germany World Cup match at the Waterhouse Pavilion in Miller Plaza on Thursday in Chattanooga. Fans gathered to watch the match despite a noon EDT start time. Even after a 1-0 loss to Germany the U.S. will advance to the elimination round of the tournament.
Dog Gracie wears a flag bandana as fans watch the USA vs. Germany World Cup match at the Waterhouse Pavilion in Miller Plaza on Thursday.The group gathered in the Waterhouse Pavilion on Thursday afternoon remained confident.
It was 1:02 p.m. The start of the second half. Yes, the Germans dominated the U.S. in the first half so thoroughly that it looked like they had 20 extra players on the field. And yes, those Germans had about 1.6 million more shots on goal than the U.S. did in the opening 45 minutes.
But all of that was for nothing: The score remained locked at 0-0. That’s all the United States needed to advance from the round-robin group stage to the knockout round.
And, actually, the U.S. team didn’t even need that. Using some convoluted soccer algebra, the United States advanced with a loss as long as Ghana didn’t win and also score two goals in its game against Portugal, which was unfolding at the same time. Through its first half, Ghana was losing 1-0.
But then the second half started, and the Germans continued to push the Americans back.