Germany topped Group G following their 1-0 win over USA on Thursday night, with Thomas Muller scoring a first-time effort from the edge of the box.

Here Sports Mole takes a closer look at the performances of all the players from the clash.

© Getty Images

USA

Goal

Tim Howard: Was probably the main reason his side did not lose by more than one goal. Made several brilliant claims from crosses - low and high - and no keeper in the world would have kept out Muller's winner. (8/10)

Defence

Fabian Johnson: Played really well and kept Lukas Podolski quiet in the first half to the point that the German was substituted at the break. Was a positive attacking outlet. (8/10)

Omar Gonzalez: Made an early mistake, but recovered to put in an imperious performance in the air and on the ground. Nothing got past him. (8/10)

Matt Besler: Was the quieter of the two centre-backs, and struggled a little with the movement of Miroslav Klose in the second half. (6/10)

DaMarcus Beasley: Got through down the left on a couple of occasions and was strong, but not the best defensively against Muller's movement in the second half. (7/10)

Midfield

Jermaine Jones: The German-born midfielder did a lot of running, but was a bit sloppy off the ball and gave away a number of fouls. It was not one of his better showings. (6/10)

Michael Bradley: Was his side's best midfielder. A little dangerous in the tackle on a couple of occasions, but won the ball plenty of times and used it well when he had it. (7/10)

Kyle Beckerman: Probably could have been sent off had he been booked for an early foul on Bastian Schweinsteiger. Generally okay on the ball, but did not keep his shape too well. (5/10)

Brad Davis: Was kept fairly quiet throughout and struggled to get in support of Clint Dempsey, but what he did do with the ball was tidy enough. (6/10)

Graham Zusi: Was USA's most dangerous attacking threat and managed to find space on a couple of occasions, but without the support from midfield he struggled to have a real impact through no fault of his own. (7/10)

Attack

Clint Dempsey: Once again started as the lone forward, but this time did not score. Was hardly in the game at all as Germany dominated the midfield and thus strangled Dempsey of support. (5/10)

Substitutes

Alejandro Bedoya: Surprisingly did not start, but came on to have a decent impact from the bench. Was never able to get much joy out of the German defence, however. (6/10)

DeAndre Yedlin: Came on late on and caused a lot of worry for Benedikt Howedes with his pace. His crossing, on both occasions, left a lot to be desired. (6/10)

© Getty Images

GERMANY

Goal

Manuel Neuer: Was not troubled with any shots on target, but played his usual sweeper-keeper role superbly and mopped up the threat from deep. (7/10)

Defence

Jerome Boateng: Much better than his previous performances at this tournament. Was often his side's widest player, particularly in the first half, and was strong defensively too. (8/10)

Mats Hummels: Was a little risky on one occasion and fortunate to get away with a foul on the counter, but other than that won a lot of headers and passed well. (7/10)

Per Mertesacker: Was the better of the two Germany centre-backs, with some really intelligent positioning to nullify Dempsey. There was no way past him. (8/10)

Benedikt Howedes: Never looks completely comfortable at left-back, but the lack of threat down the USA right is to his credit. Did not get forward much, but did not need to either. (7/10)

Midfield

Philipp Lahm: Back to the player he was for Bayern Munich last season in midfield. Kept things tidy in midfield and showed his defensive awareness with a brilliant block late on to deny Bedoya. (8/10)

Bastian Schweinsteiger: The best player on the pitch. Lahm looked a lot better alongside a more creative passer, and his Bayern teammate Schweinsteiger controlled the show with a wide range of passes. (9/10)

Toni Kroos: Linked the attack well to the more deep-sitting midfielders, but his passing was not as clinical as it has been in previous games. Still played well, however. (7/10)

Mesut Ozil: Was arguably the least effective of Germany's starting central midfielders, but did improve when switched to the left in the second half. (7/10)

Lukas Podolski: Pretty ineffective in the half that he played, proving once again that his best role in this Germany squad is probably as an impact substitute. (5/10)

Attack

Thomas Muller: Never plays as well when selected as a striker rather than on the wing, but after being switched to the right in the second half showed exactly what he was capable of and scored a brilliant winner. (8/10)

Substitutes

Miroslav Klose: Germany showed an immediate goal threat when he came on at the break as they suddenly had a target in attack. Came close to breaking the World Cup scoring record, but wait goes on. (7/10)

Mario Gotze: Came on with 15 minutes to play, but with his side slowing down the pace did not have much chance to make an impact. (5/10)

Written by
Matt Domm