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Day in 100 words or less Its an evening in a remote American town. Monday night. Primetime. Time for dinner. Check Twitter. Wow, the US soccer team just scored a goal in the first few seconds in the World Cup! Wheres the remote? Wow, they cant keep the ball. Its a long game defending, struggling to keep hold of the ball. Can they hold on? No. A deserved equalizer smashed home by the old nemesis. What now? A draw? Can they hold on? Oh, they have a corner. That guy taking it has good hair. Whoa, what a cross! Oh my... Ghana 1 - 2 United States - When Landon Donovan slid into the corner flag in South Africa it was a huge needle-mover in the United States. It happened in late morning Eastern time. John Brooks, who 99.9 per cent of the country had never heard of before 7:45pm Eastern time on Monday evening just moved that needle again. Yes, thousands of soccer fans in the country partied and went wild, but this was a moment that captured the non-soccer fan. Again. It was a monumental moment for US Soccer. - Jurgen Klinsmanns men may still be eliminated at the group stage in Brazil, but they already have that crucial moment. - It should be noted that Slovenia were the only team in South Africa to be eliminated at the group stages after winning their opening game, but if USA play anything like this against Portugal and Germany in the next 10 days, then they will be joining them. - The Americans really struggled to keep the ball. They defended deep after Clint Dempseys goal on 32 seconds, then lost Jozy Altidore and Matt Besler to leg injuries before the second half even started. Ghana pressed well in midfield and dominate in wide areas, but their crosses in the final third were pathetic. Not one good cross into the six yard box. - There remains a chance that three teams can get six points in this group. If Portugal beats USA next and Germany beats Ghana, would you rule out USA narrowly beating Germany in the last games to eliminate Portugal on goal difference? Germany 4 - Portugal 0 - Germany were thought to be rusty, hit by key injuries and potentially vulnerable. Forced into a back four of centre-backs, Bastian Schweinsteiger fit only for the bench and no Marco Reus. No problem. - When a team is this tactically intelligent, it is an absolute joy to watch a team play with a "false nine." With an organized, narrow back four (made up of four centre-backs) and two excellent central midfielders in Philipp Lahm and Sami Khedira, the front four of Germany were magnificent with their movement. - Much like against England four years ago, Germany were happy to overload in wide areas. It is one thing to overload, but it is quite another to have the skill, cohesion and understanding of movement to turn it into a strength. - The important thing here is to watch the positioning of the opposing back four. My colleague, and proud member of the centre-backs union Jason De Vos, always says you dont want to get dragged outside the width of the 18-yard box. Not only are Germany masters at doing that, but they drag the other centre-back on the outside of it as well! - Cast your mind back to World Cup 2010 and the last 16 game when Germany beat England 4-1. On the second goal, their buildup play led to Englands back four looking like a shambles. - False nine or no false nine, it is about movement. That is Miroslav Klose, as a striker, on the touchline. He receives the ball and sends Thomas Mueller into space and the German on the far left, Lukas Podolski, scores the goal. - Fast forward to the opening goal of Mondays match. It is brilliant movement from Germany to create the opening that led to Joao Pereira fouling Mario Gotze in the box. - Initially, Portugal look more than organized to deal with the threat with as many as eight players active and alert to an attack. The two centre-backs are occupied - Pepe by Gotze and on the far side Bruno Alves on Sami Khedira. - Then, Germany creates another bit of magic on the flank and the key move is from deep as Mesut Ozil finds space, crucially, dragging Pepe further over allowing Gotze with more than enough room away from Pereira... - Thats why, on the tactical view, Portugal look like a defensive shambles with their back four, similar to England four years ago. - The biggest story of the game came in the 36th minute when Pepe stupidly let his team down by reacting angrily to a flop by Muller. The Real Madrid man took exception to Mullers antics and his headbutt was idiotic. - All in all, it was pretty much the worst possible day for Portugal who need to work on getting service to Cristiano Ronaldo. Expect the magician Joao Moutinho to get far more involved in their next two matches. Iran 0 - 0 Nigeria - The 13th game of the tournament proved to be unlucky as two very average sides played out a game that wouldnt have looked out of place in the third tier of English football. - At least the atmosphere looked good. - Massive missed opportunity for Nigeria who now will have to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina to get to the last 16. Man of the Day: Nominees: - Philipp Lahm – He moved into midfield and was equally as brilliant for Germany than he was for Bayern Munich this past season. - Sami Khedira – Some were worried if he would be 100 per cent as he fights back from a long-term injury, but the midfielder, alongside Lahm, was magnificent. - Thomas Muller – Mr. Golden Boot now has as many goals at World Cups as Diego Maradona. - John Brooks – Move over, Garth. America has a new Brooks. - Clint Dempsey – It was a perfect start for the Americans as the Seattle man breezed into the box and ignited their World Cup campaign. And the winner is... Thomas Muller – His goals were brilliant, showing all of his strengths. He wanted the penalty and told Ozil so right before it and then bullied his way to the ball on the other two. At 24, he could still have two more World Cups to come. What comes next? - Belgium vs. Algeria (12pm et/9am pt) - Brazil vs. Mexico (3pm et/12pm pt) - Russia vs. Korea Republic (6pm et /3pm et) Burning question for tomorrow: Can Brazil find another gear in what is likely their last real competitive test before the knockout stages? Key stat for Day 5: We have now had 11 headed goals already at the World Cup. Authentic Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys . Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba led the way as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna. Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys China . - The Washington Redskins have signed free agent offensive lineman Mike McGlynn. http://www.cheapchiefs.com/ . Manager Ryan Nelsen has confirmed Brazilian No. 1 Julio Cesar will be rested for Wednesdays first leg of the semifinal. That opens the door for Bendik, who started 33 games for Toronto last season. Cheap Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys Online . According to a report from ESPN, sources said Manuels college coach Jimbo Fisher told teams he didnt think Manuel had the tools to be an NFL starter. Discount Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys . Its the second straight year he has decided not to play as he cuts back his schedule. Stricker was replaced in the field by Ryo Ishikawa of Japan.HOUSTON - The top spot in the AFC South will be on the line when Houston native Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts shoot for their fourth straight win when they take on the Texans at NRG Stadium. The defending division champion Colts have rebounded from a slow 0-2 start with three consecutive wins, including last weekends 20-13 triumph over Baltimore. Indianapolis has also generally dominated the Texans over the years, winning three consecutive games in the rivalry and compiling a gaudy 20-4 overall record against Houston. Meanwhile, the Colts have also excelled on short weeks, winning nine straight games when playing on Thursday despite the lack of preparation time. Its annoying for players, Texans star running back Arian Foster said this week when asked about playing on Thursday. I dont know one player that likes it. I really dont know a fan that likes it, either. I think its just the leagues way of trying to generate more revenue. Nobody is ready to play physically after a Sunday game. But youve got to go out there and do it. No team has figured out how to do it better than the Colts, who are 11-1-1 in Thursday games. The only thing trending in Houstons direction is the fact that the home team has won four of the first five Thursday matchups in 2014. Last weekend Luck passed for a touchdown and ran for another score against the Ravens, connecting on 32-of-49 passes for 312 yards, his fourth 300-yard passing performance in five tries this season. The only negative aspect of the ledger for Luck was two interceptions. Ahmad Bradshaw added 68 yards on the ground but his fumble inside two minutes left nearly cost the game for the Colts. Its huge to survive our mistakes in a sense, said Luck. Its the epitome of a team football game, of a defense lifting us up in a sense. We made our plays enough to get a win obviously. The Texans, meanwhile, are coming off a tough loss in Dallas, losing a Lone Star State matchup with the Cowboys in overtime. Dan Bailey kicked the game-winning 49-yard field goal in the extra frame to lift Dallas. The Texans had scored the last 10 points of regulation to force OT, but punted on the opening possession of the extra session. The Cowboys DeMarco Murray picked up 11 yards on a 3rd-and-1, and on an ensuing 3rd-and-8, Tony Romo lofted a rainbow along the left sideline for Dez Bryant. Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph had tight coverage on Bryant, who ran a stop-and-go route, but Bryant was able to reach over top of his helmet to make a spectacular grab. It was the play of the game, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said. I dont know if theres a better guy in the league that can make those kind of contested catches than Dez Bryant. Bailey, who missed a 53-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to snap his streak of 30 consecutive field goals, was able to split the uprights this time from the left hash with 7:45 on the clock. Foster carried the ball 23 times for 157 yards and two scores for the Texans (3-2), who have dropped two of three since beginning the year 2-0. Our defense did a good job of holding us in there, Texans head coach Bill OBrien said. We just didnt do enough offensively. Ryan Fitzpatrick was 16-of-25 for 154 yards with an interception, DeAndre Hopkins caught six passes for 63 yards and Andre Johnson hauled in five balls for 58 yards in defeat. No loss feels good, but, like I said, we have a quick turnarouund, OBrien continued.dddddddddddd Weve got to get better, and weve got to get better fast because we havent played a division game yet and we have a very big division game coming up on Thursday night in front of our home fans. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Luck and the Colts have gotten fat over the past three weeks thanks to a fortuitous turn in their schedule with two lightly-regarded opponents -- Jacksonville and Tennessee -- followed by a home game against Baltimore. That said you can only play who is put in front of you and Indianapolis has handled its business, outscoring those three opponents by a combined 105-47 margin or by an average of 35-16. The Colts defense, which allowed 409.5 yards per game in the first two games of the season, has settled down and surrendered only 297.3 per game since. The unit mustered just one sack and one turnover in the first two and had generated 11 sacks and nine takeaways during its three-game run with outside linebacker Bjoern Werner registering a career-high two sacks last weekend. The good thing about the Colts is that were very familiar with them, Texans tackle Duane Brown said. Of course you have a different game plan than weve had in years past, but as far as the personnel and things like that we kind of know what to expect. Of course, the real strength of the Colts lies in their QB, Luck, who pilots an offense that is second overall in the NFL with 439.6 YPG and tops in passing offense (321.8 YPG). Luck himself leads the NFL with 1,617 passing yards and 14 touchdowns but the free thrower is also tops in interceptions with six. With seven catches for 77 yards against the Ravens, veteran Indy wide receiver Reggie Wayne (13,950) surpassed Hall of Famer Cris Carter for the ninth-most receiving yards of all-time. Wayne needs 55 yards against the Texans to surpass another Hall of Famer, James Lofton, for eighth place. Wayne will also look to extend his streak of impressive performances against AFC South opponents. Since divisional realignment in 2002, Wayne leads all active players in receptions (376) and receiving yards (5,077) against his own division. The impressive Houston defense is led by All-Pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt, who has two sacks, three batdowns, an interception return for a TD, and an NFL- high 16 QB hits through five outings, and leads the NFL with 12 takeaways. Safeties Kendrick Lewis and D.J. Swearinger both have three forced fumbles, tied for the most in the NFL, and inside linebacker Brian Cushing leads the unit with 45 tackles. Offensively the Texans will continue to rely on their own veteran receiver, Johnson, who needs just 19 receiving yards to become the 15th player in NFL history to reach 13,000, as well as Foster, who leads the AFC since 2010 with 5,210 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns, including 752 yards (125.3 per game) and six touchdowns in six career matchups against Indianapolis. OVERALL ANALYSIS History says the Colts are usually the better prepared team on a short week and there is little reason to expect that to change this time around. Indianapolis has never lost on NFL Networks Thursday Night Football, posting a 7-0 record dating back to 2007 with six of those seven wins coming on the road. You realize once the game starts, its football, said Luck. Theres no use complaining or whining about anything. Its what you do. 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