Ten things you need to know about USA-Germany
In the final match of the group stages, Germany take on the United States in Recife with the hope of booking a spot in the Last 16. Here are ten things you should know before the two teams clash.
Three former DFB trainers together
Thursday's match in Recife is like a class reunion. Three former, or present, German national team coaches will take their place in the dugout. Of course, Joachim Löw is the current DFB coach, the successor to Jürgen Klinsmann, who was in charge for two years. Then there is Berti Vogts, who coached Germany to Euro 1996 triumph - but is now an adviser to Klinsmann in the US.
Klinsmann - home is where the heart is
Former German international footballer, and current US boss, Klinsmann has found home in Huntington Beach, California. He has resided on the West Coast of the United States since 1998, where he brought up his son Jonathan and daughter Laila. Jonathan is a promising goalkeeper and has committed to the US youth national team.
Five German US coaches
The US team has had five pre-Klinsi German coaches: Johann Herberger, nephew of 1954 World Cup-winning boss Sepp, took charge of one match in 1964. Dettmar Cramer (pic) lasted two games before taking a job at Bayern Munich in 1974. Manny Schellscheidt was the boss for three games in '75, then Lothar Osiander coached for two years, before Bob Gansler helped take the US to the 1990 World Cup.
The American-German contingent
There is a flavor of Germany at the heart of the US team. Five players have dual American-German citizenship, four having been born in Germany: John Anthony Brooks (Berlin, Hertha BSC), Fabian Johnson (Munich, Hoffenheim), Timothy Chandler (Frankfurt, Eintracht Frankfurt), Julian Green (Tampa, Bayern), Jermaine Jones (Frankfurt, Schalke). Some of the players had parents stationed in US army posts.
Generation MLS
Since Major League Soccer's inception in the 1990s, several high-profile German footballers have played in the American game. Nine players, overall, but most notably, former German World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus signed for NY Metrostars in 2000. Since then, Torsten Frings has played in Toronto, Frank Rost in New York and Arne Friedrich in Chicago.
Franz Beckenbauer - New York Cosmos
The New York Cosmos returned to US Soccer recently, but nothing will match the glitz and glamour of the 1970s and 1980s in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. Only three years after winning the World Cup, Franz Beckenbauer joined the Cosmos - also the club of Brazilian legend Pele. Beckenbauer went on to win three NASL championships in his time in the US.
Disgrace of Gijon
West Germany, at the 1982 World Cup, were involved in one of the most infamous moments in the history of the tournament. For 80 minutes, with both Germany and Austria playing each other and qualifying, neither team looked to score. It's remembered as the "non-aggression pact of Gijon" and the same scenarios surround the USA-Germany clash this week.
Bundesliga and NFL boom
Yesterday, the DFL announced the Bundesliga is the most-attended football league on the planet with an average of 42,609 fans per match in the 2013-14 season. But for all sports, the NFL still sits at the top with the Bundesliga in second-place. The American football league attracts 68,338 per match, which adds up to more than 17 million people per season.
Fan miles
Germany loves a "fan mile" at the World Cup. It's part of German tradition and the one in Berlin, especially, eclipses all others. Hundreds of thousands cram in front of the Brandenburg Gate to watch the German national side in action. More than 20,000 fans crammed into Grant Park in Chicago to watch the US draw 2-2 with Portugal - the highest recorded crowd for public viewing in the US.
Previous battles
Germany have won six from nine encounters against the United States, scoring 21 goals and conceding 15. The biggest clash of the two came at the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan where the Germans knocked the US out at the quarterfinal stage. Michael Ballack scored the only goal in a side that included World Cup goal-hero Miroslav Klose.