itsbeautifuloutside

Ghana v USA

Natal, 16th June 2014

Match Report

A must win game for both sides

Both sides must of been inspired by Portugal's poor showing earlier this evening, both now thinking they could grab the group g runners up place, Ghana leaving Kevin prince Boateng and Michael Essien on the bench seemed an odd move,

USA started very lively and a great run by Clint Dempsey saw him grab a great first Minute goal, Ghana 0 USA 1

First 15 minutes USA played at a very high pace, Ghana struggled to settle but as the first half progressed Ghana came more and more into the game,

USA are highly organised, a lot better than I gave them credit for in my preview, Ghana continued to plug away but were restricted to speculative long range shots

A rare stroke of sportsmanship just before half time is worth a mention, Jones of USA got taken out by Muntari in a full blooded slide tackle, as Muntari was down Jones boot accidentally caught Muntari's head, Muntari thinking it was intentional, reacted but Jones saved him and even pleaded his case to the referee, all ended with a friendly hand shake, but you have to say many players in this World Cup could and would have got Muntari sent off.

Half time - Ghana 0 USA 1

Second half started in a similar fashion to the first, Klinsmann has installed a real discipline to this USA side, making them very hard to break down As the second half continued Ghana really started to dominate, but USA continued holding out,

To further improve Ghana's dominance Kevin prince Boateng and Michael Essien were both bought on, USA were now getting battered.

As the last 15 mins came you started to think it was one of those games that despite their dominance Ghana were never going to score but with 8 minutes left Ghana got the equaliser they deserved from Andre Ayew

Then just as you thought Ghana would push on for the win, totally against the run of play. USA go up the other end. get a corner and score through substitute Brooks

Final score - Ghana 1 USA 2

A very big and important win for USA,

USA to qualify will need to at least draw with Portugal then keep a defeat to Germany to under 4 goals- they have a chance

Ghana to qualify will need at least a win and a draw from there games with Germany and Portugal - unlikely

sotonian