South Africa, Saturday, June 26, 2010 — All African eyes, including Ghanaian legend Abedi Pele, were on Ghana after the other five teams from the continent were eliminated after the first round. The sole African survivor did not disappoint as they clinched a last-8 spot at the World Cup after a 2-1 extra time win over USA.
The feat was the more impressive considering they played the tournament largely without the impressive midfield trio of Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Stephan Appiah.
Ghana rocked the Royal Bafokeng Stadium when they scored the opener within the first five minutes of the match. USA carelessly lost the ball in midfield which saw Ghana’s Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng steal in and slalom through on his own before picking out the bottom left corner of the goal with a precise low left-footed shot to stun the Americans.
The Africans could have gone 2-0 ahead on 18 minutes but forward Gyan Asamoah’s fierce free kick palmed away by USA keeper Tim Howard.
It was all smooth sailing till the 60th minute when USA, being traditional slow starters, repeated their earlier comeback feats. It came via a penalty conceded by Ghana centre back Jonathan Mensah who brought down Clint Dempsey inside the box. USA talisman Landon Donovan stepped up and made no mistake with his effort as he sent Richard Kingson the wrong way.
USA could have nicked it 10 minutes before the end when forward Jozy Altidore held off his marker inside the box but he dragged his shot wide.
The match finished 1-1 after regulation time and went into 30 minutes of extra time.
The Africans struck first blood within three minutes of the restart. Gyan Asamoah trapped the ball down well from a long ball to get past two USA defenders before dispatching a powerful volley past Tim Howard inside the box to send the African fans into delirium.
Despite plenty of time to equalize, USA were denied by a combination of desperate Ghana defending and poor finishing in front of goal.
“I’m the happiest man in the world right now. We have done it before in 2006 where we finished in the last 16. We have not only made Ghana proud but also the whole of Africa,” said a victorious Gyan Asamoah after the match.
“To go down to a goal so early in the match was disappointing and we gave away too many balls in midfield today. Gyan was a real handful physically, that’s the area that took care of things for them,” lamented a disappointed USA coach Bob Bradley.
The victory meant Ghana had already improved on their best ever World Cup showing four years ago where they achieved a last-16 finish. Three more hurdles await the Ghanaians if they want to achieve the dream of winning the most coveted prize in world football.
More News and Reactions
Video highlights of the game
Game photos 1
Game photos 2
Guardian.co.uk: Asamoah Gyan strike puts Ghana in the last eight
2010 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 Fixtures
| SGP DATE/DAY | SGP TIME | COUNTRY A | COUNTRY B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, Sat | 10pm | Uruguay  | 2 | South Korea  | 1 |
| Jun 27, Sun | 2.30am | USA  | 1 | Ghana  | 2 |
| Jun 27, Sun | 10pm | Germany  | 4 | England  | 1 |
| Jun 28, Mon | 2.30am | Argentina  | 3 | Mexico  | 1 |
| Jun 28, Mon | 10pm | Holland  | 2 | Slovakia  | 1 |
| Jun 29, Tue | 2.30am | Brazil  | 3 | Chile  | 0 |
| Jun 29, Tue | 10pm | Paraguay  | 0 (5) | Japan  | 0 (3) |
| Jun 30, Wed | 2.30am | Spain  | 1 | Portugal  | 0 |
For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/
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