RECIFE, Brazil—Kyle Beckerman is ready to play Germany to conclude Group G play.

"This is the biggest game of a lot of our lives right now so any fatigue in our legs will be erased," the midfielder said in a Wednesday morning press conference. "We have got to give everything we’ve got and more. I think we’ve done the proper stuff, we’ve recovered our legs so we don’t think the short rest has been harmful at all."

To Beckerman's right sat Fabian Johnson, the right back sporting a visible scab from an injury he suffered during the 2-2 draw with Portugal.

As a team, the Americans are beat up. Jozy Altidore will miss Thursday's crucial match with a hamstring injury. Matt Besler will play, but the central defender has had trouble with his legs in both games. Clint Dempsey's nose is broken. Even Jurgen Klinsmann looked exhausted, circles under his eyes while he spoke to the media.

Additionally, the U.S. needs to do what no team has managed to do so far in Brazil: get a result immediately after playing in the humidity of Manaus. Cameron, Croatia, England, and Italy all suffered defeats following their games at Arena da Amazonia. If the Americans can manage to buck the trend, they will go through to the knockout round. Fail, and they likely are headed home on a plane.

German coach Joachim Low, whose team got an extra day of rest, understands how strong the U.S. can be, even though the squad has played 180 minutes of difficult soccer in extreme conditions. "They have this aggressiveness that we saw in the tournament," he said on Wednesday. "They are very well prepared, they are very fit. They may have an advantage that their league doesn't last 11 months. They are at an excellent physical level."

The Americans will need to outwork and outrun their German opponents if they hope to succeed at Arena Pernambuco. For inspiration, they can look to someone who has been there before: DaMarcus Beasley.

"In German, we say he's in his false spring," the coach said of the 32-year-old defender. "He's smiling and enjoying every second of it. He's in his fourth World Cup and he seems like he gets younger and younger. He's never gets tired. If you want to call him at 3 o'clock at night and ask him if he wants to kick the ball around, he's right there."

Beasley will be ready as will the rest of his teammates despite their difficult travel schedule. They aren't making excuses, instead getting ready to play what is indeed the biggest game of most of their lives.

The U.S. team is putting on brave faces, even if those faces have seen better days.