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Shirtless Celebrations Are The Best Celebrations

by Jenny Hollander

You might have heard that the grand ol' U.S. of A. made it through the "Group of Death" to the "Round of 16" Thursday, losing to Germany 1-0 but surviving the first round of the World Cup anyway. It's been a tense ride, but Clint Dempsey and co made it up to us Thursday afternoon, posting shirtless photos of the U.S. team in the locker room following the game. "We make party!" wrote back-up goalie Nick Rimando on his Instagram account. We'll say.

Captain Clint Dempsey posted a second (yes! another!) photo on his own Instagram account, tagging it "#1N1T." (Which means One Nation, One Team.) Thursday also marks the first time the U.S. national soccer team has made it through to this round in back-to-back World Cups, so there's a lot to celebrate.

Good old Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal pretty much saved Team USA, albeit unintentionally, by scoring a late goal against Ghana and defeating the team. This left the U.S. in a solid second place in the "Group of Death," and the team was ushered into the next round. The only team that beat out the U.S. squad in the group was Germany, the three-time World Cup winners who finished the round with seven points. (The U.S. had four. Gulp.)

On July 1 — e.g. next Tuesday — the U.S. team will most likely face-off with Belgium's national team. Until then, there's this.

Oh, and this.

Thanks, Ronaldo!

Images: Clint Dempsey, Nick Rimando/Instagram, Deadspin