W C Special 10: USA top and tail
Hopes rise on both sides ahead of the kickoff
It did not take long to dent Ghana's. Clint Dempsey scored the fifth fastest World Cup goal on 29 seconds against the African nation. It would be hard to use the old soccer adage: It gave the USA something to hold on to! On the contrary, as any manager will tell you, if you have to go down one nil, better early on than in the last 5 minutes. Ghana had time! Yet they were a bit shell-shocked for 20 minutes in which time USA striker Jozy Altidore both missed a good chance for 2-0 and did his hamstring, thus ending his stint early.
Clint Dempsey's 29th second goal
The USA still looked comfortable in the first half but Ghana were coming back into it with twice as many passes and nearly two thirds of the possession. Ghana bossed the second half and the USA missed Altidore as an outlet. Asamoah Gyan missed many chances for Ghana but finally set up the equalizer for Andrew Ayew, as the USA, who had played the game at a fast pace, showed signs of the effects of the heat and humidity.
So at 81 minutes it was 1-1, and Ghana looked more likely to get the winner. Yet USA's John Brooks, who had failed to prevent the Ayew goal, went up the other end for a corner to USA and sent a stunning header past the Ghana goalkeeper for 2-1. Yes a great time to go ahead and although under pressure for much of the match, the USA topped and tailed it perfectly. This is the group with Germany and Portugal in and I think it is highly likely that Ghana can already be sensing that they will be going home early. For USA, that 2nd spot in their group looks achievable. If they can get a draw against Portugal, then a loss, but not a heavy one, versus Germany could be enough. We await the next stage.
The World Cup continues as a big draw in Beijing's night spots.
By ColinSpeakman
International Educator, Economist, goal of helping to increase understanding of China by the West
(Opinions of the writer in this blog don't represent those of China Daily.)
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