v Brazil, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington D.C., 10.06.1993
3-3 (0-3)
Klinsmann 66., 90.+1., Möller 80. / Helmer og 13., Careca pen 32., Luisinho 39.
This exciting encounter in Washington DC would reinforce a number of footballing stereotypes: a Brazil that was sublime and at times unplayable in attack yet dangerously suspect in defence, and a German side that was somehow able to work its way back into a game that other teams would have long given up on.
The Mannschaft had been almost anonymous in a first half that had been completely dominated by A Seleção. While the men in yellow caressed the ball around the entire length and width of the field, the Germans were hardly able to string half a dozen passes together. In temperatures hitting the mid-nineties, Berti Vogts’ side had spent most of the time chasing shadows.
Brazil went in front after thirteen minutes when Thomas Helmer turned Elivelton’s shot into his own net, and just past the half-hour mark the same two players combined to created Brazil’s second goal when the FC Bayern man scythed down his opponent to give the referee no option but to award a penalty. The spot-kick was drilled home by Careca to put the Brazilians two goals up, and when that became three six minutes before half-time following yet another superb move that was beautifully finished off by Luisinho, one might have been forgiven for conceding defeat.
Berti Vogts’ reaction at the break was to bring on another attacker in the form of Karlheinz Riedle, and there was certainly more effort being made by the Germans as they tightened things up in midfield. The first twenty minutes of the second half went by with no real chances being made by either side, but on sixty-six minutes a slack ball out of defence by Brazil was seized upon by debutant Christian Ziege, who found Jürgen Klinsmann with the perfect defence-splitting pass. Klinsmann slid in to slip the ball under the advancing Claudio Taffarel with the outside of his right foot, and the Mannschaft were finally on the scoreboard.
3-1 became 3-2 with ten minutes to go, as more lazy defending by Brazil gifted Germany with what was clearly a way back into the match. It was like something from a pinball machine: subsitute Michael Schulz fired in a shot that was only half-cleared, with the ball coming back to Schulz who more by accident than design headed it back into the six yard box. Taffarel made a complete hash of the clearance, and the ball fell to Andy Möller who calmly chested it down, made space and stroked it into the back of the net with his right foot.
All of the pressure was coming from Berti Vogts’ side now, and the ninety minutes of regulation time were up when Schulz wound up to take a throw from the left touchline. The Borussia Dortmund man flung the ball deep into the Brazilian penalty area, where it bounced up and over the defence and was met by Klinsmann who rose above Taffarel to level the scores at three apiece.
Whoever first said that football is a game of two halves would have clearly enjoyed this one.
Germany: Köpke – Buchwald – Kohler, Helmer – Effenberg, Zorc (54. Strunz), Matthäus (c), Ziege (74. M. Schulz) – Sammer (46. Riedle), Möller – Klinsmann
Brazil: Taffarel – Jorginho, Júlio César, Dunga, Márcio Santos – Luisinho Quintanilla, Raí, Branco (84. Nonato), Elivélton (70. Cafu) – Valdeir (64. Almir), Careca
Referee: Arturo Angeles (United States)
Assistants: Paul Tamberino (United States), Stephen Olson (United States)
Yellow Cards: – / Dunga, Branco
Red Cards: – / –
Attendance: 34,737
v United States, Soldier Field, Chicago, 13.06.1993
4-3 (3-1)
Klinsmann 14., Riedle 34., 40., 59. / Dooley 26., 81., Stewart 72.
Having salvaged a point from nothing against Brazil in their opening match of the US Cup, Germany headed west to Chicago to take on the hosts, who had produced a major shock in beating England 2-0 in their opener. Nationaltrainer Berti Vogts stuck with the two man attack of Jürgen Klinsmann and Karlheinz Riedle who had helped turn the tide against Brazil, and also retained Michael Schulz, who had played a key role in two of the three German goals. Another change saw creative playmaker Uwe Bein come in for Andreas Möller.
With Lothar Matthäus making his hundredth international appearance, the Mannschaft – kitted out in their change colours of green and white – delivered a first-half performance that was light years away for their first forty-five minutes against Brazil; within a quarter of an hour they were ahead, as Klinsmann beat the flailing ‘keeper Tony Meola in the air to nod Germany in front.
Riedle almost made it 2-0 just after twenty minutes when his sharp header hit the base of the post with Meola beaten, but not long afterwards the US were level when Tab Ramos found Roy Wegerle, who set up the perfect cross for German-born Tom Dooley to slide in for the equaliser.
Dooley’s goal failed to put Berti Vogts’ side out of their stride, and they continued to press forward. Playing only his second match for the national side, Christian Ziege was looking like a seasoned veteran; first his free-kick was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Meola, and on thirty-four minutes his pin-point left-footed cross was spectacularly met by Riedle who buried a terrific diving header to put the Mannschaft back in front. Moments later Riedle was almost in again, but was just beaten to the ball by defender John Doyle after yet another testing Ziege cross from the left.
Meola did well to block a Matthäus shot following a well-timed long ball from Schulz, but could do nothing about Germany’s third goal. Fullback Jürgen Kohler had made a rare charge forward before launching a ferocious right-footed effort; Meola was able to get a hand to the ball, but only succeeded in turning it against the underside of the crossbar where it fell to Riedle who nodded it home. It could very easily have been 4-1 before half-time, but Meola was again on hand to deny Effenberg who on another day might have had a couple himself.
Half-time offered no great solace to the Americans, who were almost immediately under the cosh again after the break. Time and again the Germans threatened to carve the American defence wide open, and just before the hour mark Kohler found Effenberg out on the right, and the Bayern man delivered the perfect cross for the unmarked Riedle who completed his hat-trick with his second spectacular diving header. Substitute Andy Möller combined with Klinsmann to almost set up Riedle’s fourth, only for Doyle to desperately hack the ball away as the Lazio striker was about to pull the trigger.
The Mannschaft could very easily have been six or seven goals ahead, but the Americans somehow managed to make a game of it. On seventy-two minutes Kohler was beaten for pace by Ernie Stewart who beat Köpke from a tight angle, and nine minutes before time Dooley scored his second as the German ‘keeper just failed to prevent the 1. FC Kaiserslautern man’s long-range effort from crossing the line.
When Argentinian referee Juan Carlos Loustau almost abruptly scooped up the ball and signalled for the end of the match, there were more than a few sighs of relief on the German bench. The 4-3 scoreline may well have flattered the hosts, but in the final analysis it will always be the goals that count – not the number of shots on target.
Germany: Köpke – Buchwald – Kohler (75. Helmer), M. Schulz – Strunz, Effenberg (60. Möller), Matthäus (c), Bein, Ziege – Klinsmann (70. Pflipsen), Riedle
United States: Meola – Armstrong – Doyle, Lapper – Ramos (77. Jones), Clavijo, Dooley, Harkes, Agoos (66. Lalas) – Wegerle, Wynalda (60. Stewart)
Referee: Juan Carlos Loustau (Argentina)
Assistants: José Méndez (Argentina), Eduardo Rodríguez (Uruguay)
Yellow Cards: Schulz / –
Red Cards: – / –
Attendance: 53,549
v England, Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit, 19.06.1993
2-1 (1-1)
Effenberg 26., Klinsmann 53. / Platt 31.
The contest between Germany and England at Detroit’s fully-enclosed Pontiac Silverdome was the final fixture of the tournament, with both teams coming into the match with contrasting ambitions. While Germany were one good win away from taking the trophy, England were on a single point playing to avoid the tournament’s wooden spoon.
Nationaltrainer Berti Vogts made a few changes from the team that had beaten the United States, with ‘keeper Bodo Illgner coming in for Andreas Köpke, Guido Buchwald filling in for the injured Jürgen Kohler, and midfield schemer Andy Möller returning to the side in place of Uwe Bein.
Knowing that they needed to win to overhaul Brazil at the top of the tournament table – a draw would have seen them finish second on goal difference – the free-scoring Germans pressed forward right from the start, but the best chance to open the scoring fell to the men in red as David Platt headed over the bar with Illgner beaten. Making the most of what was clearly a let-off, skipper Lothar Matthäus found the roving Stefan Effenberg – who calmly beat England ‘keeper Nigel Martyn to give his side the lead after twenty-six minutes.
As had been the case in all of Germany’s matches during the tournament, the team that seemed to be in control simply allowed the opposition back into the game. The Brazilians had done it against Germany, the Germans had almost let things slip against the US, and now the Mannschaft took their foot off the pedal and allowed England to dictate the pace. It was no great surprise when the Three Lions equalised: John Barnes and Paul Ince combined beautifully to engineer the chance for Platt, who stabbed the ball home from all of two yards.
The equaliser seemed to wake the Germans up, and they slowly started to re-establish their grip on the game. When Gary Pallister was caught dawdling by Klinsmann some eight minutes into the second half, the blond striker’s quick pass found Christian Ziege who charged forward with intent. After a neat exchange with Klinsmann Ziege neatly side-stepped Des Walker before jabbing the ball towards the England goal; his shot was on target, but Martyn got the finest of fingertip touches to deflect the ball towards the foot of the post. The ever-alert Klinsmann was there to meet the rebound, and slotted the ball home with a neat left-footed finish.
Having taken the lead for the second time in the match, Berti Vogts’ side would not relinquish it; for most of the remaining half an hour England were left chasing shadows as the German midfield took full control with their measured short passing game and smooth distribution. While the match didn’t have any of the last-minute drama of the Brazil game or the free-flowing movement that had been on display against the United States, this third and final fixture provided what was probably the Mannschaft’s most clinical and professional performance of the tournament.
A more in-depth match report can be found in the Das Duell: Germany v England section.
Germany: Illgner – Helmer – Buchwald, M. Schulz – Strunz, Effenberg (76. Zorc), Matthäus (c), Möller (63. Sammer), Ziege – Riedle, Klinsmann
England: Martyn – Barrett, Pallister (55. Keown), Walker – Sinton, Platt, Clough (70. Wright), Ince, Sharpe (46. Winterburn) – Merson, Barnes
Referee: Ernesto Filippi Cavani (Uruguay)
Assistants: José Méndez (Argentina), Eduardo Rodríguez (Uruguay)
Yellow Cards: Schulz / –
Red Cards: – / –
Attendance: 62,126
Having taken their tally from their three matches to seven points, Germany had done enough to pip Brazil and claim the US Cup trophy. They had perhaps been lucky to get the 3-3 draw with Brazil in their opening match, but with a total of nine goals from their three games they were more than good value for what was their first mini-tournament victory.
Final Tournament Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 7 |
 | Brazil | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 |
 | United States | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 3 |
 | England | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 1 |
Other results: United States 0-2 Brazil; United States 2-0 England; England 1-1 Brazil.