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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. Cheap Jerseys . has left the San Jose Sharks to become the Boston Bruins director of player personnel. Cheap Authentic NFL Jerseys .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. http://www.nfljerseyschina.net/ .Y. - DeMarre Carroll felt as though he couldnt miss in the second quarter as he outscored the Brooklyn Nets 14-13 all by himself. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Steve has built a solid reputation throughout the years - first as a hockey player, then as an NHL general manager and now as a scout. Cheap NFL Jerseys . The game had many controversial incidents that, upon closer inspection, were not as controversial as many believed. The Formations Toronto FC lined up in its usual 4-4-2 formation, with Nick Hagglund slotting in at right fullback and Bradley Orr at centreback in place of the injured Mark Bloom and Steven Caldwell, respectively.TORONTO -- Terrence Ross seemed a bit taken aback by all the fuss. Although hed just matched a Toronto Raptors record with 51 points, Ross wasnt sure why someone threw him a game ball. With the media crowding around his locker, he noted that New Yorks Carmelo Anthony poured in 62 on Friday night and Oklahomas Kevin Durant had 54 earlier this month. It was left to teammate Greivis Vasquez to offer some perspective, noting that while those veterans may have scored more, Ross had eclipsed the half-century mark in just his second year in the NBA. "You dont think about it once you try winning the game and you do whatever," Ross said after the Raptors fell 126-118 to the Los Angeles Clippers in a highly entertaining game at Air Canada Centre. "You dont really realize what youre doing until its all over. "It would have been better if we had the win but I guess thats just how it goes." Ross nearly doubled his previous career-high of 26 against Portland last season. "My teammates just had confidence in me," Ross said. "Every time I was open they passed it to me, so I just shot it and thats what they want me to. I just kept shooting." Ross was 16-for-29 on the night in field goal attempts, including 10 of 17 from three-point range to match the Raptors single-game point record set by Vince Carter against the Phoenix Suns in 2000. Ross, who got a standing ovation from those remaining amongst the sellout crowd of 19,800 when he went to free-throw line in the final minute, had a chance to break the record but missed a last foul shot. Ross almost single-handedly kept the Raptors in the game after DeMar DeRozan went down with a sprained foot and missed the second half. &quoot;Terrance picked it up.dddddddddddd..and put on a heck of a display," Toronto head coach Dwane Casey said. "Not only did he get 51 points but he had nine rebounds, which was huge." But it wasnt enough against the Clippers (31-15), one of the NBAs elite teams. Jamal Crawford with 37 points and Blake Griffin with 30 led the Clippers, 8-2 in their past 10 games. The loss snapped the Raptors (22-21) two-game winning streak. The game see-sawed back and forth until the fourth quarter, each trip up the court adding to the drama. But after Jonas Valanciunas converted an alley oop from Kyle Lowry to give the Raptors a 107-106 lead with 6:34 to go, the Clippers showed why they are among the leagues best. L.A. had an 11-1 run over the next 2:42 and never looked back. "It was an incredible offensive display on their part," Casey said of the Clippers, who shot 55 per cent on field goals compared to 49 per cent for Toronto. "Its not like our guys werent giving an effort on the defensive end. They made some tough shots." DeRozan, who rolled on his left ankle after being undercut on a jump shot by vilified former Raptor Hedo Turkoglu in the second quarter, said "its a little painful right now" after the game. Casey said X-rays on DeRozans foot proved negative and hell re-evaluated on Sunday. Toronto led 37-36 at the half. L.A. was up 71-65 at the half. It was 93-93 after three quarters. Lowry, who had 11 points and 12 assists, said Ross performance "left me speechless. "Ive seen him shoot the ball before and tonight with DeMar going down he stepped it up and thats what a team does," Lowry said. "Unfortunately, we didnt win tonight." ' ' '