The Spot

Julian Green, Age 19, Scores Spectacular Goal in His World Cup Debut

Rightly or wrongly, Julian Green was a controversial selection for the U.S. World Cup roster. The 19-year-old, who plays for Bayern Munich’s reserve team, has not accomplished anything at all internationally, and his ticket to Brazil seemed like it might have been little more than a strategy to lure the German-American to the U.S. camp.

On Tuesday in Salvador, Green accomplished a very, very big thing internationally. Green came on as a late substitute with the U.S. in desperation mode, down 2–0 in the second half of extra time. Almost as soon as he came on, Green scored on a beautiful right-footed volley off a brilliant pass from Michael Bradley.

The goal looked just like the one Fabian Johnson scored, again off a pass from Bradley, in a pre–World Cup friendly against Turkey.