Sobered by its first loss in a year, world champion Germany schooled an inexperienced U.S. team with a 3-0 beating Saturday in a World Cup tuneup game.
After the game, the Americans thanked them for the lesson."In sports, you always learn more when you lose," said U.S. goalie Brad Friedel, whose good positioning and diving saves kept the game close until midway through the second half.
Germany, which lost to Argentina 2-1 Wednesday in a rematch of the last World Cup final, was not in a giving mood. Coach Berti Vogts vowed publicly before the game that he wouldn't broach a repeat of the last U.S.-German matchup last summer, when a careless German defense let the Americans pull to 4-3 on two late goals despite dominating throughout.
U.S. coach Bora Milutinovic, who fielded a very young team at Stanford Stadium, said he was happier after Saturday's shutout than he was following the loss in Chicago.
"We played much better today than the other game," he said.
German goalie Bodo Illgner said the defending world champions felt pressure following the loss to Argentina in Miami.
"You know there's pressure. Germany is a soccer nation. Soccer is probably more important than politics," Illgner said.
Defender Lothar Matthaus, making his team-leading 106th international appearance for Germany, said he was generally satisfied with his team's performance.
Forward Andreas Moller scored one goal and set up the two others for Germany.
A crowd of 52,397 watched the game at Stanford, one of the sites for the World Cup, which the United States will host for the first time.
The victory raised Germany's record to 7-1-2 in international matches this year. The United States dropped to 10-13-11.