Bobby Wood scores late winner again, USA takes down No. 1 Germany
Five days after capping a riveting comeback against the Netherlands, U.S. men's national team forward Bobby Wood did it again.
Wood scored a game-winning goal against World Cup champion Germany in the 88th minute, turning and firing from long range to break a 1-1 draw and give the USA a 2-1 win in Cologne.
Mario Gotze had opened the scoring for Germany in the 12th minute finishing off a pass from Patrick Hermann while unmarked in the area.
The U.S. answered toward the end of the first half, with Michael Bradley picking out Mix Diskerud with a pinpoint diagonal ball. The New York City FC midfielder brought it down with his chest and then finished with a karate kick, hitting the ball with the outside of his foot to score and cap a 30-pass sequence.
That set the stage for Wood, who entered late, just as he did on June 5 against the Dutch. Wood latched onto a pass from Brad Evans, which was dummied by Stanford standout Jordan Morris. He then took a sharp turn and let fly with a bouncing left-footed blast, beating Ron-Robert Zieler, delivering the first USA win over a No. 1-ranked team since the 2009 Confederations Cup against Spain.
The World Cup winners were not entirely at full strength, with the likes of Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller left out for this match and a Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar. The USA was not at full strength either, with Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey and Jermaine Jones among the World Cup contingent that did not make the trip.
Here's how the stunning result unfolded:
ROSTERS
GERMANY
GOALKEEPERS: Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)
DEFENDERS: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Jonas Hector (FC Cologne), Shkodran Mustafi (FC Valencia), Sebastian Rudy (1899 Hoffenheim), Antonio RĂĽdiger (Stuggart)
MIDFIELDERS: Karim Bellarabi (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Ilkay Gündogan (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Patrick Hermann (Borussia Monchengladbach) Christoph Kramer (Borussia Mönchengladbach) Mesut Özil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Inter Milan), André Schürrle (Wolfsburg), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
FORWARDS: Mario Götze (Bayern Munich), Max Kruse (Borussia Monchengladbach)
USA
GOALKEEPERS: Cody Cropper (unattached), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
DEFENDERS: Ventura Alvarado (Club America), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Michael Orozco (Puebla), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham Hotspur)
MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), Danny Williams (Reading)
FORWARDS: Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Jordan Morris (Stanford), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)