U.S. men shock Germany in soccer
Bobby Wood scores in the 87th minute in a 2-1 exhibition win over the World Cup champions.
Five days after beating the Netherlands for the first time, the United States defeated Germany in Germany for the first time.
The Americans could not be more confident heading into next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. “It makes us world champions, right?” goalkeeper Brad Guzan joked after the 2-1 victory Wednesday over the Germans.
Bobby Wood, whose 90thminute goal Friday gave the U.S. a 4-3 win in Amsterdam, scored in the 87th minute for the improbable victory in an exhibition in Cologne against the nation that won last year’s World Cup.
U.S. captain Michael Bradley passed to Brad Evans, wide on the right f lank, and Evans made a 25-yard diagonal pass to Wood, who had entered in the 74th minute. Wood trapped the ball just outside the arc, swiveled, took a touch and sent a 23yard shot on a hop past goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler.
Mario Goetze put the topranked Germans ahead in the 12th minute off a pass from Patrick Herrmann.
Mix Diskerud tied the score for the 27th-ranked U.S. in the 41st minute when he ran into a precise 20-yard pass from Bradley, and with the laces of his outstretched right boot kicked it in from about six yards.
U.S. Coach Juergen Klinsmann won against the country he led to the 1990 World Cup title as a player and coached to third place in 2006.
On another day of turmoil for FIFA and the World Cup, the bidding contest for the 2026 tournament was put on hold.
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said it would be “nonsense” to begin the next bidding process on schedule this week amid the American investigation into soccer corruption.
While Valcke spoke in Samara, his staff in Zurich gave more evidence to Swiss authorities for a separate investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid contests won by Russia and Qatar.
“FIFA handed over seized IT data,” the Swiss attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Rubio Rubin scored early in the second half, Zack Steffen saved an 81st-minute penalty kick, and the United States beat Colombia, 1-0, in Wellington, New Zealand, to reach the Under-20 World Cup quarterfinals.
Robbie Keane will return for a sixth season with the Galaxy after the reigning Major League Soccer champions picked up his contract option for 2016. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Keane is due to make $4.5 million in the final year of this contract this season.
— Kevin Baxter