How USA can overcome the Ghana challenge
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jun 25, 2010
[USA-GHANA] A spot in the quarterfinals is at stake on Saturday. The Americans reached that stage in 2002, but to get there they must reverse a defeat they
suffered four years ago. There's no shortage of alliterative billings for the U.S. match Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC, Univision) against Ghana in the World Cup round of 16, and though it's a rematch
of their 2006 meeting in the group phase and thus a chance for revenge, it's going to be a battle of mind and spirit, ergo ...
The Rumble in Rustenburg takes place just two days after the
Americans stunned Algeria, 1-0, in stoppage time to win Group C, and Ghana closed out Group D in second place by losing to Germany by the same score.
Ghana coach Milovan
Rajevac’s tactics have caused some consternation among those expecting a more brazen approach; after beating Serbia, 1-0, in its opener, Ghana declined to press a 10-man Australia and
settled for a 1-1 tie that proved to be sufficient when Australia’s 2-1 defeat of Serbia knocked out both of those teams.
Had Serbia equalized, Ghana would have needed to do so as
well to stay ahead on goal difference.
To date in this tournament Ghana hasn’t opened up the throttle very far. Despite talented attackers in several positions, this is a team drilled on
organization by Rajevac, a former defender born in Serbia who played his club ball in Yugoslavia. Both of its goals in this tournament were converted from the penalty spot, which will trigger
nightmares in the memories of American fans.
In a 2-1 loss to Ghana four years ago, the two goals conceded by the Americans that day typified their proclivity to commit egregious errors in
bad positions. Ghana scored its first goal when Claudio Reyna, of all people, stepped on the ball in his half of the field and lost it to Haminu Draman, who punched
it past Kasey Keller. After Clint Dempsey equalized came an alleged foul in first-half stoppage time, and the decisive penalty kick.
Complaints about the
hotly disputed call shrouded the fact Ghana overpowered the Americans for much of the game. Thus it was ironic that the biggest American – Oguchi Onyewu is 6-foot-4, 200 pounds
-- happened to topple Razak Pimpong (5-foot-11) while jousting for the ball, and referee Markus Merk pointed to the penalty spot.
Onyewu has lost his spot
in the lineup, yet still the Americans struggled through some shaky moments in beating Algeria. They probably should have fallen behind early when centerback Jay DeMerit whiffed on
balls dropping near the edge of the penalty area. Both chances were squandered, and although the U.S. posted its first World Cup shutout in 60 years it is facing a careful yet potentially explosive
team.
A four-man back line is fronted by a line of three players. Two are deployed further up the field in support of Asamoah Gyan, who scored the fastest goal of the 2006
tournament when he netted 68 seconds after kickoff of a 2-1 defeat of Czech Republic, which had squashed the U.S., 3-0, to open the competition. That fact, too, is a jarring note to a team that fell
behind to England (fourth minute) and Slovenia (12th minute) before rallying to tie its first two matches, and stumbled out of the gate defensively against Algeria.
Dede
Ayew, the son of former Ghanaian international Abedi Pele, is a tricky, skillful threat in either flank midfield spot, and will require monitoring by Dempsey or
Landon Donovan to limit his thrusts at the back line.
Prince Tagoe has blown hot and cold in Ghana’s three games, but if he keeps his spot can be a
handful on and off the ball. Defensive mid Anthony Annan anchors the middle, and though he’s not nearly the equal of injured captain Michael Essien, he’s
a very strong tackler fond of contact.
Four years ago, after beating the USA in group play, Ghana faced Brazil in the round of 16 without the suspended Essien. Despite holding firm for
lengthy intervals, it succumbed to attacks when its feeble attempts to spring an offside trap failed. This time around, Ghana has had many months to compensate for the loss of Essien, whose great
strength and range are matched by a fierce personality.
Essien's absence would appear to give the U.S. an edge in midfield except for the fact Ghana will have greater numbers, if Gyan does
play more or less alone up front. DeMerit’s ability to push into midfield can offset that advantage but could also leave Gyan one-v-one against centerback Carlos Bocanegra,
presuming Coach Bob Bradley sticks with the same back four he sent out against Algeria. Gyan is strong and quick in the box but can also bomb away from distance.
The
ruggedness and workrate of Maurice Edu is probably the best central midfield complement for Michael Bradley, whose opportunities to get forward could be limited by
Ghana’s numerical superiority. If Bradley is pinned in his own half, the Americans will rely more on right back Steve Cherundolo’s overlapping runs and crosses as well as
forward Jozy Altidore’s power and mobility.
Centerback John Mensah is an imposing presence but he prefers to stay in the middle, so Altidore’s
adeptness on the flanks can cause confusion as defenders track him and his forward partner as well as Dempsey and Donovan. Ghana seldom commits major numbers into the attack so unless it falls behind,
situations for the Americans to counter will be rare.
The Americans simply can’t be knocked off the ball as often as they were four years ago, and there probably won’t be a lot
of second touches close to goal. The Ghanaians close down quickly and are also tough to conquer in the air on set plays.
Thousands of American fans are in South Africa and at least some of
the local populace and neutral supporters will jump on the post-Algeria bandwagon. Everyone else is backing the only African team left in the competition. For the Americans, who sometimes play as an
away team in the U.S., it’s no big deal.
It's not going to be enough to overcome just Ghana. The US will have to overcome FIFA as well. Considering that Ghana is the only African team left, and that FIFA desperately wants to see Africa do well, especially in this World Cup, and previous anti-American officiating, and how corrupt FIFA is, it will be extremely difficult for the US to win.
I was just having the same discussion with a friend prior to reading DM's post. I also feel that FIFA wants, even requires, an African team to advance. This coupled with the ever present anti-US sentiment, often seen in the Olympics also, will cause the US hardship to win this and future games.
I hope/think you are wrong and I'm not being naive. i can see the referee being told to call a game tight or watch out for certain fouls, but i don't see FIFA telling the ref to favor a team or crack down on a certain player. In fact, I would expect this game to turn on the players' skills. Any other action will set WC soccer back to the dark ages. A top European or South American ref crew is called for here.
Well, top European ref crews officiated USA-Germany in '02 and USA-Ghana in '06. I'm sure we all remember those games. But I do hope you're right, Charles.
Team USA will still be playing at a super charged level in the first 45 minutes so look for goals from Dempsey, Altidore, and even another from Donovan ... 3 - 0 USA at the half, final score 3 - 1. How can USA overcome Ghana, same way they overcame Algeria, Slovenia, and England, ..., with heart!
Aren't you going paranoiac guys?
American players (as far as I could see) don't make any fault so it will difficult to bring any evidence against them.
I'm french and I bet that this amazing american team will win (and save our honour :-) ..., with heart.
Enough of this "why does the world hate Americans?" nonsense. The team has made it this far despite a few halves of so-so play. They can beat Ghana, but they'll need to avoid going down 2 goals in the first half. Sure, officiating has been dodgy, but look at the Japan-Denmark game. The official seemed to be doing all he could to get the Danes back into that game and that penalty was garbage, but Japan got the result and is moving forward while Denmark is heading home. As for FIFA being corrupt, I'm sure they have their problems but if they were that corrupt wouldn't the French team (and the Italian, for that matter) still be in it? Go USA, and no whinging about how no one loves us if we lose. It'll be a good game.
FIFA may be corrupt, and probably wants the only African team remaining to stay in the tournament, but I doubt there is any pressure on the referee to throw the game their way. Yes, we felt we were screwed by the lack of a call against Germany in 2002, but the benefit of the doubt went to Germany, as I'm sure we would want were the positions of our teams to be reversed (a ref had better be sure before awarding a PK and a red car, and I remember watching that play in slow motion and still not being sure if the German player moved his hand to the ball or if the ball just struck his hand).
While the referee from Mali did have a poor game, he blew his whistle for a foul prior to Edu's goal, so though he was clearly wrong (and would probably take back the call if he could), he didn't knowingly take back a US goal. And the offside call against Dempsey was incredibly close (and since Dempsey was standing on the goal line when he finished it, I thought it might have been a correct call until I saw the replay). That call is also exceptionally hard for the AR because inevitably his attention was drawn to the action around the ball (since it was in his line of sight) and he might not have focused on Dempsey until after the ball was struck (by which time Dempsey was in an offside position). The referees have a very difficult job, so while I'm sure we'll feel some calls will go against us on Saturday, I don't think there is a plot. And our players have proven to be so mentally tough that we'll play right through them anyway...GO USA!!
"and although the U.S. posted its first World Cup shutout in 60 years"
Am I the only person that remembers the US beating Mexico 2-0 in 2002?
I am surprised, appalled, and disgusted about some of the truly idiotic comments on this thread. Of course, the WORLD would like to see African teams advance, but anyone paying even slight attention will see that the refs have been no friends of the African teams in this World Cup.
Congrats to Ghana - they played hard and deserve the 2-1 OT victory. The USA made some advances, but ultimately their defense was not consistent enough to win this game. No last minute heroics...