It turns out it was better for the USA to finish second in the Grupo de Detho:

Surely the U.S. Men's national team would have preferred a win against Germany to win the group and guarantee a spot in the round of 16. But now that they have one of the 16 spots, it turns out the U.S. may be better off having been the runners-up in the Group of Death.

While the U.S. has the tougher first match against Belgium, their half of the bracket looks far less menacing overall with just one former champion. Meanwhile, half of the teams in the other side of the bracket have previously won the World Cup and have combined for 18 appearances in the final compared to just seven on the U.S. side.

Realistically, the U.S. is a long-shot on either side of the bracket. But if we are going to dream about shocking the world, the U.S. may have gotten the easier road.

USA has a 41.6% chance of beating Belgium.

http://www.businessinsider.com/belgium-game-us-soccer-2014-6