The USA will be upbeat in their international friendly against Germany at Cologne on Wednesday after an enthralling performance against Netherlands, which they won 4-3.
They showed a lot of character against Netherlands, who were shocked after the US came down from 3-1 to win the encounter. But Germany will be one big test for US, who are preparing for the CONCACAF Gold Cup as well.
Though Germany might be without quality players such as Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller, the world champions are one of the best teams in the world with great bench strength. Hence, the US needs to be on top of their game to spring one more shock defeat.
The match between the two has been widely anticipated, especially with US coach Jurgen Klinsmann being a former German player.
In an interview with ussoccer.com, Klinsmann said that he expects the encounter to be a fun game.
"I just expect it to be fun for everybody involved, especially the players. I mean you're playing against the world champion. Who else do you want? It's a beautiful stadium and it's a beautiful atmosphere as it mostly is for the home games of Germany," said Klinsmann.
This match is one of the last chances for players in the US team to show that they deserve to be in the team for the Gold Cup as well.
"For us it's kind of the last exclamation mark we can send before the Gold Cup, so we want to do well. We want to have a good result and leave a good impression and then we will make our decisions toward the Gold Cup. We want to see Germany no later than two years from now when we play the Confederations Cup in Russia," added Klinsmann in the interview.
The last time these two nations met in 2014 World Cup, it was the Germans who dominated the game and won with a deceiving scoreline of 1-0. It is at this juncture, where the victory against the Dutch will come in handy, as they will have the belief in them to come from any position.
Despite the win, the US' defenders John Brooks and Ventura Alvarado did not look comfortable when the Dutch were going on the offensive. If they have another loose game, the Germans are going to take full advantage of the situation.
With quality players such as Schweinsteiger, Gundogan and Ozil at Germany's disposal, they are a huge threat for the US.
But the Germans have not looked as formidable as they were in the last World Cup, as they have only won three of their last six international matches and Joachim Low will be eager for a victory at home ahead of their European qualifiers against Gibraltar on 13 June.
Germany currently lie second in group D of the European qualifiers with three wins in the group from five matches.
Where to Watch Live
The international friendly between USA and Germany is scheduled for 8:45 pm local time (12:15am IST, 2:45pm ET, 7:45pm BST) with live coverage in India on Sony Sis and Sony Six HD.
Viewers in the US can watch the game live on Fox Sports with live streaming option on Fox Sports Go and viewers in Germany can watch it live on ARD Das Erste.
UK audience can catch the action live on BT Sport, while viewers in Africa can watch it on SuperSports 3 Africa.
