When Ghana trot onto the field later today in Rustenberg against the USA they will be seeking to confirm their superiority over the Yanks and to uphold the only 'hope of Africa' tag in the World Cup 2010.The Yanks will on the other hand will be gunning for a sweet revenge for the 2-1 loss to the Ghanaians in the last World Cup in Germany.
Ghana who have found goal scoring tough,[they have found the net only twice in this World Cup]will be coming up against a U.S side that has abundant confidence stemming from their recent superlative performances at the Confederations Cup[trounced Egypt 3-0,stunned Spain 2-0 and just lost 3-2 against Brazil after leading 2-0 at half time]
The U.S have also comeback from a goal down against England in this World Cup to salvage a draw.In a thrilling match against Slovenia they again came back to draw 2-2 only to lose a legit Maurice Edu goal in stoppage time which could have given them a victory.
Against Algeria the USA played with heart and great spirit to move into the second round via a last minute Landon Donovan goal. All of this shows the ability of the Americans to muster patience and take a match by the scruff of the neck when all seems lost.
Will the USA be able to reproduce that spark against a Ghana side that is fond of dominating possession and sealing its defence?In the only other previous meeting ,Ghana took the lead via an opportunistic Haminu Dramani goal while the US pulled even through goal machine Clint Dempsey. Ghana sealed the victory after captain Stephen Appiah sent goalie Kasey Keller the wrong way.
The U.S. had protested that penalty award which they claim Razak Pimpong faked against defender Oguchi Onyewu.Playback did not reveal any compelling case for Ghana's penalty but the harm unfortunately had already been done and the U.S went out of Germany 2006 at the group stage, a disappointing turn of events after a quarterfinal place at the previous World Cup in Japan-South Korea.
This time it will be American grit against Ghana's composure and poise. With America bidding for another World Cup,the Stars and Stripes will be firing on all cylinders to convince skeptics about their ability and also to better their quarterfinal performance in 2002.The key for the Yanks as I see it may be Buddle and Gomez,whose goals and ball holding skills may prove crucial.
I don't see any change in Ghana's line-up but captain Stephen Appiah may come in to distribute, take tornado shots and push the warriors forward.The Black Stars of Ghana will also be driven by legend Camerounian Roger Milla's boast about how good they are and their will to die for a host continent whose other teams[Nigeria,Cameroun,LaCote d'Ivoire,Algeria and South Africa] have disappointed.
I daresay these reasons will make this a thrilling match to the finish and the team that take its chances well will come out smiling into the quarters.
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