football, U.S. vs. Germany, strategy

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Okay, I'm a relatively new fan, so a few questions if you will:

The U.S. wants to at least keep the game close, but I'm not sure that's any way to approach the game. I know in poker tournaments you generally want to play loose-aggressive when other players are tight and tight-aggressive when other players are loose. But the opportunities are really more specific and local than that. I don't know whether this applies to football at all.

With the U.S. playing Sunday evening and now again this Thursday morning, will fatigue be a factor and/or the heat and humidity?

Any major U.S. players yellow-carded and/or major German players and thus ineligible to play? And please explain briefly how this works, and if you get red-carded you can actually end up playing shorthanded, right?

And for extra points, please give me a quick rundown of the offside rule and playing "off the shoulder" and just how far this envelope can typically be pushed.

Thanks.

Don't know who has been carded.

No card is given for minor violations. A yellow card is given for more serious, but not major, violations. 2 yellow cards in a game bring out a red card and you are ejected from the game and suspended from the following game. No substitute is allowed in the current game (meaning the team will be playing short 1 player) but a full lineup is allowed in the following game without you. A red card is given for serious violations and results in an immediate ejection with the same rules as 2 yellow cards in the same game.

Another rule is if you get 1 yellow card in separate games, you are allowed to finish the second game you receive the card, but are suspended the following game. The team is allowed to submit a full lineup without you.

For offsides, to make a forward pass 2 defenders (goalie and another opponent) must be ahead of the recipient when the kick is first made. Otherwise it is offsides and the ball is turned over. I am not familiar with the "off the shoulder" rule.

Thank you very much.

I kind of gather that "off the shoulder" refers to players who really push the rule, and are actually slightly offside and hope the referee either doesn't notice or doesn't call it. I think.