Get ready for a really long, really crazy New York lunch hour.
The city’s soccer fans readied Thursday for the U.S. showdown with Germany as the Americans aimed for a spot in the Sweet 16 of the World Cup.
Fans arrived early in Bryant Park for a good spot to watch the showdown in Brazil, due to start at noon. Tomas Tapanes, 39, came with three family members — all wearing No. 8 Clint Dempsey jerseys.
“Germany is a pretty tough competitor,” said the North Bergen, N.J., firefighter. “But I think the U.S.A. is hungry, we’re young and we could at least tie it to advance.”
Dempsey has scored in each of the two previous U.S. games — a win over Ghana and a heartbreaking tie against Portugal.
Tapanes brought his 11-year-old soccer-playing daughter Kaitlyn, his brother and his niece. The brother wore an American flag draped across his shoulder and Tapanes said the sense of excitement was already palpable.
“There’s a vibe in New York,” he said. “There’s a vibe here that you can’t really get anywhere else.”
Depending on the results of the Ghana-Portugal game, played simultaneously with the U.S.-Germany game, the Americans could advance from their daunting “Group of Death” to the tourney’s knockout round.
While most fans across the city were cheering for the red, white and blue, there were pockets of supports for the German squad.
The German bar Zum Schneider’s in the East Village was relocating to a bigger space on 23rd St., with the owners expecting a turnout of up to 800 people.
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