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United States 1-2 Ghana – Asamoah Gyan’s strike fires the Black Stars into the quarter-finals
 UNITED STATES 1
Donovan (pen) 62
 GHANA 2
Boateng 5, Gyan 93
Ghana overcame a spirited USA side to set up a quarter-final against Uruguay and continue to represent Africa in the World Cup. Asamoah Gyan’s superb excellent left-footed strike would be the decider that propelled the Black Stars forward in the competition.
The last time these two sides met was in a group phase match in the 2006 Fifa World Cup match in Nuremberg where the Black Stars managed to beat their opponents 2-1, a score line which the Americans wanted to avoid this time around. The first chance of the game came to Clint Dempsey whose left-footed effort was easily stopped by Richard Kingson. Minutes later, Kevin-Prince Boateng put the Ghanaians ahead after his excellent run was finished with a low left-foot strike which beat Tim Howard at his near post. Boateng’s confidence was clearly showing when he attempted a speculative effort from 22 yards out which went harmlessly over the bar, while at the other end of the pitch, Jozy Altidore shot wide in a half-hearted attempt on goal. Despite a light spell of possession, the Yanks failed to break down the Ghanaian defensive structure and on 30 minutes Bob Bradley decided to replace Ricardo Clark with the unimpressive Maurice Edu to provide more of a presence in the centre of midfield. Ghana were still lacking in the final third, while the United States had a chance to equalise with Robbie Findley, but his strike was saved by the legs of Kingson.
After the break, the United States came out determined and on 47 minutes they should have been level from a cross which was helped on by Altidore in the box to substitute Benny Feilhaber whose right-foot shot from seven yards was expertly saved by Kingson. Their persistence would soon pay off when Jonathan Mensah brought down Clint Dempsey in the area and the resultant penalty was converted by Landon Donovan. Ghana had a rare chance when Asamoah Gyan’s 18-yard header looped over the crossbar, before Michael Bradley failed to finish off an excellent build-up with a low shot that Kingson held well. Ten minutes before the end, Altidore had an excellent opportunity to put the US ahead but he shot wide of Kingson’s right-hand post.
Extra-time began exactly as the first half with Ghana taking the lead with Asamoah Gyan who latched onto Andre Ayew’s long-ball and smashed a composed left-footed shot past Time Howard from 16-yards to give his team the advantage. The United States forced a corner in the final moments of extra-time, however Bradley’s volley went just over and Ghana held on for a victory.
The Ghanaians began the match on the front-foot, dominating possession, particularly in the middle of the park with neat, one-touch passing around the United States’ midfield. Their main strength came in the wide areas with Asamoah and Inkoom looking to break with pace at every opportunity. However, they did not commit enough men upfront and as a result they lacked potency in the final third, bar a few speculative efforts on goal by Kevin-Prince Boateng. Ghana’s rigid 4-2-3-1 system saw them overrun the opposition in the middle of the park, allowing them to close down the USA players in numbers. The United States, on the other hand, began the game nervously, they were careless in possession and failed to pressurise their opponents when they had the ball. As a result, the Black Stars were allowed to dominate possession and create opportunities on goal. Dempsey and Donovan were almost unheard of in the first half as the States were restricted to long-balls which were constantly headed away by Jonathan Mensah in the Ghanaian defence.
In the second half, there was a reversal in the performance of the two teams. The Ghanaians were anxious after the restart, possibly due to the thought of reaching the quarter-finals if they could contain the Americans. However, the United States came out with renewed character and spirit, committing more players forward. After the equaliser, they were very much in the ascendency as they played with more confidence on the ball and passed the ball quicker. In contrast, the Ghanaians reverted to a defensive nature, however, while being organised at the back, they were poor in attack with the forward players opting to shoot from long-range as opposed to finding the defence-splitting pass. The Ghana players failed to supply Asamoah Gyan who was limited to two headed efforts on goal in the second half. The final ten minutes saw both sides playing for extra-time, both with the fear of losing in the dying moments of normal time.
Despite not receiving the service from his teammates, Asamoah Gyan ran and chased the ball throughout the match and his efforts were rewarded in extra-time with a clinical strike which put the Ghanaians back in the lead. Although they failed to create many opportunities in the final third of the pitch, their two goals certainly proved that they are clinical in front of goal. The renewed confidence after re-establishing their lead saw the Black Stars materialise as they did in the first half with controlled passing and neat off-the-ball movement. The States bombarded the Ghana box with crosses in the search for the equaliser, but the defence was on hand to clear every ball that entered the area. In the end, the young Ghana squad held on with an impressive defence performance towards the end of the game and despite not having many efforts on target, they managed to beat the United States in extra-time and set up a quarter-final with Uruguay.
United States – Howard – Cherundolo, Bocanegra (C), DeMerit, Bornstein – Donovan, Bradley, Clark (Edu 30), Dempsey – Altidore (Gomez 91), Findley (Feilhaber 46)
Ghana – Kingson – Pantsil, John Mensah (C), Jonathan Mensah, Sarpei (Addy 72) – Annan, Boateng (Appiah 78) –Inkoom (Muntari 113), Ayew, Asamoah – Gyan.
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