FIFA World Cup 2010 – USA vs. Ghana; The black stars looking to put a hurdle in the way of the Unstoppables
The Black Stars, Ghana, and the Americans, already have a history together. These two sides came face to face in the last FIFA World Cup and no one can forget how the Black Stars knocked the Americans out. The irony of the situation is that they are facing each other in the same round as they did previously.
USA, during this World Cup have been really impressive. They were paired up with the European Giants, England and not to forget the very impressive Slovenia who were topping the group at first but at the end just got unlucky and could not qualify for the next round after the loss they suffered against England.
USA started their World Cup with a crucial match against the team which was not only considered as favourite for the group but also for the World Cup. England made a stunning start early on with their captain, Steven Gerrard, scoring the first goal before the five minute mark. All the fans thought this was going to be a high scoring game as the England team was playing quick passing football. On the other hand, the Americans started to organize themselves well, and kept more of the ball. They starting defending the ball and keeping the possession. Soon, a shot struck from far could not be stopped by the English goal keeper, Robert Green, and crossed the goal line to make it a goal each and that was the score line till the referee blew the final whistle.
Next USA had to face Slovenia, who were topping the group as they had a win over the Algerians. Slovenia struck two early goals and shocked everyone by the way they were attacking the US defence over and over again. The first half came to an end with the US lagging behind with a two goal margin. In the second half, the Americans came back with a bang and scored two goals to equalize. They even scored a third which was not allowed, although Donavan was not offside. The ref made a wrong decision but they came back from behind and that was enough for them to get at least one point. Slovenia was still topping the group with four points.
Their last match was against the Algerians who had great team chemistry but they could not score goals because they lacked finishing skills. The match was going on as a draw until the stoppage. The US captain Donavan sent home a ball deflected by the Algerian goal keeper and secured USA a spot in the round of 16 by a win over the Algerians with the final score, one goal to nil. USA topped the group, as Slovenia was beaten by the English side and therefore they had to face the side which finished second in group D.
On the other hand, Ghana did really well to get themselves a spot in the round of sixteen. Their first match was against Serbia which they won with the help of a penalty; gifted to them by the famous Manchester United defender, Vidic.
Their second match was against the disappointed Australians who suffered a smashing 4-0 defeat against Germany, the earlier week. Ghana won this match, also, with the help of a penalty kick given to them by the Australian number 10. The final score line was two goals to one for Ghana.
Later, they had to face the toughest team in their group, Germany. They performed really well against the mighty Germans but failed to impress their fans and suffered a one nil defeat. Although, they lost the last match but they qualified for the next round because of the goal difference.
This match, Ghana vs. USA, is going to be filled with action as USA is going to mark their revenge over the Black Stars. Let us see if the so called unstoppables beat the only African team that is left in this World Cup? Most of the fans predict that it is going to end up in a draw and will lead to a penalty shootout. Well, only time will tell us the real story. Let us wait and watch what is going to happen.
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