Simplest Scenarios
- Germany: Advance with win/draw vs. USA
- United States: Advance with win/draw vs. GER
- Portugal: Advance with win vs. GHA, AND GER/USA win IF POR wins tiebreak with loser (see below)
- Ghana: Advance with win vs POR, AND with GER/USA win IF GHA wins tiebreak with loser (see below)
U.S. Scenarios
- Win/draw vs. Germany
- Loss and Portugal-Ghana draw
- Loss and win tiebreaker vs. Portugal-Ghana winner
Tiebreakers
If the United States lose to Germany, Ghana would qualify in their place if either game is decided by a margin of two goals or more. If the U.S. lose by one goal, Ghana would need to win by two goals or be involved in a higher-scoring one-goal win. For instance, a 1-0 scoreline in both games would put the United States through on head to head. So, if the U.S. lose 1-0 then Ghana must win 2-1 to qualify on goals scored.
To surpass the U.S. Portugal will need a goal difference swing of five (head to head is level). So for instance, Portugal would need to win 3-0 and U.S. lose 2-0. The teams will draw lots if goal difference is identical (this would happen with a 3-0 U.S. defeat and a 2-0 Portugal win).