NATE SILVER: The US Actually Has A Decent Chance In The Group Of Death
They're with Ghana, Germany, and Portugal.
It's probably the most difficult group in the entire tournament. Germany is one of the best teams in the world. Portugal has Cristiano Ronaldo. Ghana has eliminated the U.S. from the last two World Cups.
But according to a model created ESPN's Nate Silver, the U.S. chances of advancing are actually pretty good, all things considered.
The U.S. has a 39.4% chance of making it to the knockout stage, according to Silver's model. Before the draw they had a 44% chance, so the group actually didn't change things that much.
Germany has a 91.6% chance to advance, Portugal has a 40.3% chance, and Ghana has a 28.6% chance.
Not bad!
<a href='http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1639248/spi-world-cup-group-stage-projections?cc=5901'><img alt='2014 World Cup Group Stage Odds According to ESPN's Soccer Power IndexGroups (hover over countries for more information) ' src='http://public.tableausoftware.com/static/images/8C/8CFFWT9KC/1_rss.png' style='border: none' /></a> Learn About TableauSilver says everyone is freaking out about the draw because Ghana knocked out the U.S. in the last two World Cups: