US Out of World Cup While Ghana, Italy Reach Next Round
June 22, 2006
The Black Stars from Ghana started off their campaign as outsiders in Group E with Italy, the Czech Republic and the USA expected to fight for the two places in the last sixteen.
But the group was thrown wide open after the Ghanaians' 2-0 victory over the Czechs, and soccer fans everywhere, not only in Africa, started hoping for a surprise in the 2006 World Cup.
Slow start
It was not a spectacular game for either Ghana or the USA on Thursday, with both teams coming out slow and careful. The main incident in the first twenty minutes came when Ghanaian Michael Essien was booked. He'll miss the next match, likely against soccer powerhouse and Cup favorite Brazil.
Ghana's Haminu Dramani began the scoring 21 minutes into the game after he stole the ball from US captain Claudio Reyna and quickly moved in to place the ball to the right of Kasey Keller.
Dramani finished well, but referee Markus Merk could have given Reyna a free-kick. The re-runs showed that Dramani's challenge got Reyna's knee and the American could only continue play for another fifteen minutes.
Questionable penalty ends the scoring
The US never got their game rolling but still managed to get the equalizer in the 42nd minute. Boateng lost the ball in midfield to DaMarcus Beasley who quickly rushed down to the left of the box and hit in a low pass to Clint Dempsey who had no problem hitting home on the right side.
It would be the Americans only excellent attack.
Two minutes later, Ghana were given a penalty and again Merk's decision will be questioned. Captain Stephen Appiah put the shot high into the back of the net as Keller dove in the wrong direction for the last goal of the game.
Soccer's connoisseurs weren't offered much in the second 45 minutes. For a team fighting for a place in the last 16, the Americans seemed surprisingly bleak. Apart from a couple of decent chances, including Brian McBride's header into the post in the 65th, the US team lacked the stamina to turn the game around.
The Ghanaians also failed to convince in the second half but few of their fans will spend any time analyzing the game. Tonight is a night for celebration for the Africans.
The Czechs are out
In the other group E game, the Czech Republic lost 2-0 against Italy and will have to pack their bags.
The Czechs started the World Cup with a persuasive win over the USA and were a dark horse candidate to win the Cup.
But an injury to striker Jan Koller's that turned out worse than first feared and with Milan Baros still not on full force against the Azzuri, it was clear the Czechs suffered hard from their weakness in attack.
The Italians wrapped up as group winners with goals by Marco Materazzi, in the 26th, and Filippo Inzaghi, in the 87th. The Italians will begin their finals against the runners-up of group F, which will be fought out later Thursday..