Representing the continent of Africa, Ghana forged onward at the World Cup with a 2–1 win in extra time over the United States at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday.
Ghana, the only African nation, to make it to the round of 16 will now face Uruguay in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Striker Asamoah Gyan and goalkeeper Richard Kingson were the heros for Ghana. Gyan scored his third goal of the tournament in the 93rd minute to give his team the victory, while Kingson came up with several key saves.
“We have done this before, we did it in 2006, but now we have advanced one step higher,” said Gyan on FIFA.com. “I’m very, very happy. I’m the happiest man in the world.”
“At the moment it is just a stinging tough defeat. We felt that as we went through the first round, that we were ready to go deep into this tournament,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley.
Ghana started very positively while the U.S. started slowly. Kevin-Prince Boateng struck in the fifth minute as the U.S. midfield completely faltered. Boateng picked up the ball at the half line and dribbled unchallenged into the 18-yard box from where he ripped a low shot inside the near post. It looked like Tim Howard could have gotten his angle better on the play but credit Boateng for taking it to the unprepared U.S. defense.
Being down is nothing new to the U.S. and the fight back really took shape in the second half. The U.S. had gone down to England and to Slovenia in previous matches but had come back to draw. Their dramatic late win against Algeria saved them from elimination, so playing under pressure was nothing new for Bob Bradley’s men.
Findley’s replacement Benny Feilhaber had a great chance early in the second half but Kingson came up with a great reaction save. The U.S. pressure was mounting on the young Ghanaian side.
Just past the hour mark, Landon Donovan worked a nice give-and-go with Clint Dempsey who ran onto the ball in the box. Ghana’s Jonathan Mensah clattered into him and left the referee no doubt.
Donovan calmly slotted the penalty kick off the inside of the post and leveled the match. No keeper would’ve been able to stop that shot.
Dempsey, who was fouled on numerous occasions, epitomized the American fighting spirit. Michael Bradley’s tireless work in the U.S. engine room kept Ghana from threatening with Gyan and Andre Ayew.
But after regulation time, the match remained tied 1–1 and the World Cup would see its first match going into extra time. The match was statistically dead even after 90 minutes as possession was 50–50.
Early in extra time, Gyan latched onto a long ball, controlled it brilliantly with his chest, fought off U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra and drove a powerful left-footer past Howard. The goal was first class in athleticism and skill as Gyan was too hot to handle for Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit.
The U.S. threw everything they had at Ghana but were not able to come up with a really threatening chance. Ghana’s defense has to be singled out for dealing effectively with the U.S. wide play and being able to create an impenetrable wall at the top of the 18-yard box.
“We did a good job to get back in the game and we had a few chances to get the second one and go in the lead, but it wasn’t our night, ” said Donovan.
The score line was the same as when Ghana and the United States met in the group stage at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Four years ago, Ghana progressed to the round of 16 where they were knocked out by Brazil.
It’s a difficult way to end the World Cup for the promising U.S. team. The pieces of the puzzle were there for a long journey. The U.S. got several outstanding performances and notably, Landon Donovan, has seen his star rise considerably.
“This is a terrific group and we are proud but we are also disappointed that we didn’t take it further,” said Bradley.
Donovan summed up the situation aptly, “Soccer is a cruel game sometimes. One minute you are on top of the world and the next minute you are bottom of the mountain.”
