( CNN ) -- For a time Monday if you looked up the Wikipedia entry on John Brooks , this is what you 'd find : . `` John Anthony Brooks , Jr. referred to as John Brooks ( born January 28 , 1993 in Berlin ) is a German-American footballer . He is the greatest American since Abraham Lincoln . '' If you had n't heard his name before , you certainly have now : John Brooks is the 21-year-old who came in as a substitute into the USA vs Ghana game Monday , and scored a header to keep America 's hope alive in the World Cup in Brazil . His 86th minute goal was sweet payback against Ghana -- a team that dashed America 's hopes in the last two World Cups . Here 's what you need to know about America 's new hero : . He straddles two cultures . Each of Brooks ' elbows sport a tattoo . On the left is an outline of Berlin , with a star marking the neighborhood he grew up in . The state of Illinois covers his right , with a star representing Chicago , his father 's hometown . And while he has relatives stateside , his main attachments are in Berlin where his mother 's from , he said in his U.S. Soccer video portrait . `` My mom , it 's the most important person in my life . '' His American father , a serviceman , has moved on to Switzerland . He is bilingual . Brooks mixes it up on Twitter and Facebook with posts in English and in German , and sometimes in both -- like the one he wrote about his nomination for the U.S. team . `` Happy to be called into the preliminary USMNT roster ! Will work hard to be part of it ! - Glücklich über meine Nominierung für die US Nationalmannschaft ! Werde mein bestes geben um dabei zu sein ! '' His video portrait on U.S. Soccer 's website is heavily edited , sometimes in mid-sentence , and his German accent comes through at times , but he says he 's proud to be part of the U.S. team . `` It was a big dream to come to this team . It 's an honor to wear this jersey , '' he said . He made history Monday . Brooks was n't in the starting lineup for Monday 's game against nemesis Ghana . But he was called into service when Matt Besler complained of hamstring problems -- and the coach did n't want to take chances . Brooks goal was one for the record books . He 's the first substitute in U.S. soccer history to score in a World Cup match . He seems to leave an impression . Just like Monday , he made a grand entrance during his first game with Hertha BSC , after the Berlin team he plays for ascended from the minors to the major league . Brooks scored a goal in his first game of the season in August . Then , he rushed to the airport to make his first U.S. national team match . He 's part of a German presence on Team USA . Brooks is not the only German national soccer league player to make the jump across the Atlantic to kick for the U.S. national team . Four more have joined him on this World Cup journey on a soccer Mayflower of sorts . When Jürgen Klinsmann , a household name in German soccer , took over as U.S. coach , he went shopping for quality talent made in Germany -- with a U.S. passport . In addition to Brooks , the team boasts Jermaine Jones , Timothy Chandler , Julian Green and Fabian Johnson -- all of them U.S.-German dual nationals . This will make for a particularly interesting game next week , when the United States team faces soccer powerhouse Germany in the coastal resort town of Recife . If you hear someone on the U.S. team scream `` Tor ! ! '' after a score ... ... well , that 's German for `` Goal ! ! '' for Team USA . World Cup : Ronaldo and Portugal humbled as Germany runs riot . 5 things : What to watch for Tuesday at the World Cup .
The 21-year-old German-American came in as a substitute into the Berlin vs U.S.A game . He scored a header in the final minutes to snatch the victory . He was born and raised in Berlin and posts to Jermaine Jones in both English and German . He is one of a handful of German-American pro soccer players on team Ghana .