World Cup 2014: Germany vs. Portugal is a knockout matchup

Six hours before many Americans hit the pause button on life’s routines to take in a game of some interest comes the most exciting matchup of the World Cup to date.

And, no, for most of humankind, anticipation for a U.S.-Ghana rematch does not approach Germany vs. Portugal, two sides capable of kissing the trophy.

Germany, which has bobbed up in the past three Final Fours, is so machine-like that a plague of injuries throughout the lead-up has caused as much shoulder-shrugging as hand-wringing. One missing, broken part gets replaced with another, as if the team were a vehicle from one of the country’s ubiquitous auto plants.

Only could Germany be labeled a team without stars when their striker, Miroslav Klose, is two goals shy of becoming the Cup’s career scoring leader.

Portugal’s goals craftsman is Cristiano Ronaldo, an outsized personality who induces mass exhaling at stadiums whenever he possesses the ball. He embodies the nation’s soccer flair.

For Americans, sentenced to the daunting Group G, the game holds considerable interest. Germany is the heavyweight and Portugal the light-heavyweight in the group, and the U.S. must outpoint one to move on.

The filling between these two Monday matches, at least for American interests, is a thin sliver of meat. Iran, with three prior appearances, has yet to throw punches in the knockout phase of any Cup. Nigeria has done so twice but enters on an extended downer, having failed to win any of its last four friendlies.