Day 15 Match stat pack: USA vs GER, POR vs GHA, KOR vs BEL, ALG vs RUS

June 26 – The last of the group games complete with the conclusion of Groups G and H. The US vs Germany clash is holding most attention, while Ronaldo will have to produce something extra special to prevent ceding bragging rights this World Cup to Messi. An exciting Algeria will be looking to overcome a dour-looking Russia.

Portugal vs Ghana

Cristiano Ronaldo out of the World Cup at the group stage? That’s a highly likely possibility because one of these sides will definitely be eliminated come the final whistle – and both will go if the USA and Germany draw. Qualification may be out of their hands but only a win will give either of them a chance to progress

Portugal should have felt more at home in Brazil than any European nation but, like Spain, have hardly impressed at all. Even Ronaldo has been below par, hampered by lack of fitness.

The Black Stars, many fans’ second team, have a better chance than Portugal because of goal difference but they, too, will only advance if they win and Germany beat the Americans. Should the US lose by one goal and Ghana win with the same scoreline then the US would still go through by virtue of their better head-to-head record.

Head to Head
The two teams have never met before.

FIFA Ranking (June 5th 2014)
Portugal: Rank: 4 Points: 1189
Ghana: Rank: 37 Points: 704

World Cup 2014 Qualifying
Portugal
Second in UEFA Group F with 21 points (P10 W6 D3 L1 GF20 GA9)
Play-off v Sweden: Portugal 1-0 Sweden, Sweden 2-3 Portugal
Ghana
First in CAF Group D with 15 points (P6 W5 D0 L1 GF18 GA3)
Play-off v Egypt (First in CAF Group G): Ghana 6 – 1 Egypt, Egypt 2 – 1 Ghana

Portugal v Ghana stats
Portugal and Ghana both need to win this game and will be hoping to go through on goal difference/goals scored with a heavy defeat of the USA by Germany.
Portugal have won only 1 of their last 9 World Cup games, failing to score in 6 (W1 D4 L4).
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 11 goals in his last 10 matches for Portugal, but none in his last 3.
Ronaldo is the only player in the Portugal squad with more than one World Cup goal.
Ghana currently one of only four nations who have appeared at more than one World Cup but never been eliminated in the group stage – the others are Germany, Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.
Asamoah Gyan will be making his 11th World Cup appearance, equalling the African record held by François Omam-Biyik of Cameroon.
Gyan has 5 World Cup goals and if he scored one more he would overtake Roger Milla as the top African goalscorer at the World Cup.

USA vs Germany

This is the group game so many people have been waiting for as USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann goes up against his compatriots who, of course, he was previously in charge of.

A draw would send both sides through to the last 16 but they have been very quick to deny they will copy what happened in 1982 when then-West Germany side and Austria appeared to play out a 1-0 win for the Germans that infamously sealed both countries’ path to the next round.

As it happens the USA and Germany have never drawn in nine previous meetings and both will be keen to avoid a probable second-round clash against Belgium.

Head to Head games
13/06/93 USA v Germany 3-4 (US Cup)
18/12/93 USA v Germany 0-3 (International)
15/06/98 Germany v USA 2-0 (FIFA World Cup)
06/02/99 USA v Germany 3-0 (International)
30/07/99 USA v Germany 2-0 (FIFA Confederations Cup)
27/03/02 Germany v USA 4-2 (International)
21/06/02 Germany v USA 1-0 (FIFA World Cup)
22/03/06 Germany v USA 4-1 (International)
02/06/13 USA v Germany 4-3 (International)

FIFA Ranking (June 5th 2014)
USA: Rank: 13 Points: 1035
Germany: Rank: 2 Points: 1300

World Cup 2014 Qualifying
USA
First in CONCACAF Group with 22 points (P10 W7 D1 L2 GF15 GA8)
Germany
First in UEFA Group C with 28 points (P10 W9 D1 L0 GF36 GA10)

USA v Germany stats
A draw would see both Germany and the USA through to the Round of 16.
There has, however, never been a draw between these two sides in their 9 matches (Germany won 6, USA 3).
They have met twice before at the World Cup. Germany won 2-0 in 1998, (with Jurgen Klinsmann scoring), and 1-0 in the 2002 quarter-finals.
Possible goalfest: The last 4 matches between these 2 sides have produced 19 goals.
Clint Dempsey needs one more goal to equal Landon Donovan’s USA record of 5 World Cup goals.
The USA have now conceded 7 goals in the first 5 minutes of World Cup matches – a new record.
The USA have only scored 2 goals in their last 6 matches.
The USA have, however, scored in 8 successive World Cup matches.
Germany have scored in 19 of their last 20 World Cup group matches.
Miroslav Klose is the third player in World Cup history to score in 4 World Cup tournaments – following in the footsteps of Pele and Uwe Seeler.

Algeria vs Russia

Algeria held Fabio Capello’s England to a goalless draw at the last World Cup and a similar result against Capello’s Russia should secure a place in the knockout stage for the first time – barring an emphatic South Korea win in the group’s other game.

The north African side have waited 32 years for this moment since being denied a place in the second round by “that” controversial 1-0 win for West Germany over Austria in 1982, a result that prompted FIFA to start final group matches at the same time.

A Russian win will put them through, provided South Korea don’t beat Belgium by a bigger margin which is highly unlikely.

Head to Head games
04/11/64 Algeria v Russia 2-2 (International)

FIFA Ranking (June 5th 2014)
Algeria: Rank: 22 Points: 858
Russia: Rank: 19 Points: 893

World Cup 2014 Qualifying
Algeria
First in CAF Group H with 15 points (P6 W5 D0 L1 GF13 GA4)
Play-off v Burkina Faso (First in CAF Group E): Burkina Faso 3 – 2 Algeria, Algeria 1 – 0 Burkina Faso
Russia
First in UEFA Group F with 22 points (P10 W7 D1 L2 GF20 GA5)

Algeria v Russia stats
Despite having only scored one goal in the tournament, Russia can progress to the next round by winning this game, barring South Korea beating Belgium by at least two goals.
If Russia fail to win, it would be the first time they (or their predecessor, the Soviet Union) had failed to win a group-stage match.
Russia have won both their previous matches against African sides at the World Cup (6-1 v Cameroon in 1994 and 2-0 v Tunisia in 2002).
Algeria have only won 1 out of 7 World Cup matches versus European opposition (W1 D2 L4). They beat West Germany in 1982.
The last 8 World Cup goals conceded by Algeria, and 8 of the last 9 conceded by Russia, have come in the second half.
If Algeria win, it will be the first time they have ever won back-to-back World Cup matches.

South Korea vs Belgium

The Belgians are already through to the last 16 so coach Marc Wilmots is likely to rest certain players. In truth his star-studded team have only limped through their games but Wilmots says he isn’t interested in playing pretty football, just winning.

Striker Romelu Lukaku cut a frustrated figure in their last match and reacted angrily to be being substituted. His replacement, 19-year-old Divock Origi, snatched the winner, becoming the youngest World Cup scorer since Lionel Messi in 2006 in the process.

This has proved too big a hurdle for Korean coach Hong-Myung-Bo’s young team. The only way they can stay in the tournament is if they beat Belgium and Russia defeat Algeria but by a smaller margin.