Day in 100 words or less Its an evening in a remote American town. Rickey Henderson Jersey . 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. Austin Hedges Jersey . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Manuel Margot Jersey .S. -- Carl-Antoine Delisle snapped a tie in the third period with his second goal of the game to lead the Tigres past Cape Breton 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Wednesday as Victoriaville won its eighth in a row. http://www.padresrookiestore.com/Padres-Johnny-Manziel-Kids-Jersey/ .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games.WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harper will have to wait at least one more day to break out of his frustrating slump after Tuesday nights game between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles was postponed by rain. The game was called following a delay of approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes. The interleague matchup between crosstown rivals will be made up on Aug. 4. The teams will continue the home-and-home series in Baltimore on Wednesday night. Harper came into the game mired in a 4-for-24 skid since his return from the disabled list on June 30. He had left thumb surgery and missed 57 games. Although the 21-year-old was 1 for 13 over his previous four games, manager Matt Williams was confident the outfielder was on the brink of breaking loose. "Looks better. Timings a little better," Williams said Tuesday afternoon. "Its a process man. Take that much time off, its difficult to maintain timing. So I think hes starting to see it a little bit better, hes a little calmer at the plate. Yeah, the results werent there, but standing in the dugout watching it, he just looks calmer. It looks like hes seeing the ball a little bit better." In spite of Harpers struggles, the Nationals started the day a half-game behind Atlanta in the NL East. For that reason, Harper could afford to be patient while waiting for a return to the form that enabled him to win NL Rookie of the Year honours in 2012. "He knows ... its going to take some time. Standing in the box he can also feel itt," Williams said. Brad Hand Jersey. . "When hes starting to see the ball better he can feel that, too. So its a question of continuing to work and continuing to go out and play in game situations and see the breaking ball again and again. Hell be good, but it does take time. Ill be happy to write his name in the lineup every day." The rainout forced the Nationals to shuffle their rotation. Doug Fister, who was slated to start Tuesday, was shoved back to Wednesday. Gio Gonzalez will start Thursday, and Tanner Roark, who was slated to start Wednesday, was moved to the bullpen. Williams said Roark should start Sunday, the final day before the All-Star break. The Orioles came into the game having won seven of eight. They activated right-hander Bud Norris from the disabled list to make his first start since June 21. He had been sidelined with a strained groin. Norris will start Wednesday instead, and Wednesdays scheduled starter, Wei-Yin Chen, was pushed back to Thursday. Williams said talk of a day-night doubleheader Wednesday in Washington, then Baltimore, was never discussed. "Didnt the Mets and Yankees do it at one point?" the manager asked. "I would imagine that it was about the same amount of time to get across New York City that would take for us to get to Baltimore, but no, we had a mutual off day on the 4th of August so well determine what time that game is. Since there was a mutual off day we didnt go that far." Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '