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Killer Klinsmann
Striker scores knockout punch in Germany's 2-0 win over U.S.
Posted: Friday September 25, 1998 03:58 PM
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Jorg Heinrich of Germany skips past U.S. captain Thomas Dooley during the World Cup Group F game. Germany won 2-0 Shaun Botterill/Allsport |
PARIS (CNN/SI) -- The U.S. World Cup team may have earned a bit of
respect in its 2-0 loss to Germany, but it
gained no points and a second-half goal by Juergen Klinsmann put a severe
crimp into the American's hopes of advancing to the second round. With
the momentum on the side of the U.S., Klinsmann stuck a dagger into
America's heart in the 66th minute when he was able to control a cross in
the box and strike the ball into the upper right corner of the goal. The
score took the air out of the Americans who continued to pressure the
Germans the rest of the half, but did so with little success. The U.S.
now trails both Germany and Yugoslavia,
who each have three points in Group F play, and will have to pass one of
them to advance to the next round. If it should tie one of the two, then
goal differential will be used to determine which team advances, and that
is where the Klinsmann goal could hinder the American's chances to move
onto the second round. For weeks, U.S. players said they were out to
earn the respect of the European soccer world. When it came time to produce
against Germany in their World Cup opener Monday night, the Americans fell
flat, generating almost no offense and showing they have a long way to go.
"We're going to have to play a lot better than we did tonight if we
expect to win," U.S. forward Eric Wynalda said. Germany went ahead
in the ninth minute when Andreas Moeller was left unmarked in front of the
goal on a corner kick. The United
States failed on its one good chance to tie early in the second half,
then let Juergen Klinsmann score on a counterattack in the 65th minute.
Now the Americans must get at least a win and a tie against Iran and
Yugoslavia to advance past the first round. "Giving up the early
goal really took the wind out of our sails," defender Eddie Pope said. "It
was really hard to get going after that." There's almost a week for
the Americans to regroup. They play Iran on Sunday in the most politically
charged game of the tournament. They know they must win that one to have
any chance of success in this World Cup. "Rest assured, we have to
put some people on the field that can get behind their defense," coach
Steve Sampson said. Frankie Hejduk produced the only electric moment
for the Americans, nearly tying the score seven minutes into the second
half. David Regis, a former Frenchman who became a U.S. citizen last
month, sent a cross to Hejduk, whose shot was headed for just inside the
right post. Goalkeeper Andreas Koepke dived to his right, getting his hand
on it, and Claudio Reyna's shot off the rebound went off Koepke's knees.
"In the second half, we came out ready to be more aggressive," Reyna said.
"We were and we almost tied it. But after they scored the second goal, it
became more difficult." It was an eerily quiet crowd for much of the
game, in sharp contrast to the boisterous crowds the Americans played
before at the Silverdome, the Rose Bowl and Stanford Stadium during the '94
tournament. Sam's Army, a group of several hundred American fans
that follows the team, chanted "U-S-A" from the upper deck of Parc Des
Princes' north end, but that group was far outnumbered by several thousand
German supporters chanting "Deutsch-Land!" at the South end. The French
were mostly silent. U.S. players were as flat as the crowd in the
first half, looking nervous and losing most headers and 50-50 balls.
Wynalda, who predicted a big game for himself, didn't have one good chance
and Germany largely shut down Reyna, the top U.S. playmaker. Hejduk
and Tab Ramos, who entered in the 70th minute, sparked the offense in the
second half, but the chances weren't finished and the United States was
blanked for the third straight time in the World Cup since upsetting Colombia 2-1
in the first round four years ago. The Americans didn't get their
first hard shot until the 30th minute, when Chad Deering's curving shot was
easily grabbed by Koepke. Germany's early goal came after Olaf Thon
sent a long corner to the far side of the penalty area and Klinsmann,
standing between Regis and Ernie Stewart, outclawed both, sending the ball
in front of the net. Moeller then went past Thomas Dooley and beat Kasey
Keller to the near side. Sampson described Klinsmann's goal as
"unfortunate." Dooley was in the center of the second goal, too.
Regis' clearing pass was blocked by Jens Jeremies, and Dooley was turned
around on Oliver Bierhoff's cross, leaving Klinsmann wide open with nearly
the entire net to shoot at.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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