Goals: Ghana—Ayew 82’; USA—Dempsey 1' Brooks 86’
Recap: Despite being significantly out-played, out-matched and out-classed, the United States was able to earn a 2-1 victory over Ghana on Monday.
Unable to deal with the early tempo from the Stars and Stripes, Ghana turned the ball over and conceded the fastest goal of the 2014 World Cup. The technical ability of Clint Dempsey saw him dribble past the Ghanian defense and beat Adam Kwarasey to the far post. The U.S. would batten down the hatches from there.
Wave after wave of Ghanian attack was thwarted by self-inflicted errors and timely clearances from American defenders. The dam finally broke, with Andre Ayew leveling the affair in the 82nd minute, but the U.S. striked back.
A header from John Brooks in the 86th minute would give the Yanks the 2-1 win.
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Key Moment: Matt Besler was forced to exit the match after tightening his hamstring in the first half. Following the restart, John Brooks would take his place. The 21-year-old didn’t bring the same defensive prowess synonymous with Besler’s game, but he did provide the match-winner for the United States.
Man of the Match: Jermaine Jones was one of the few American players able to handle the physicality of Ghana’s game. The 32-year-old finished the match with four tackles and two dribbles won.
Lesson Learned: The United States wasted its money. Jurgen Klinsmann was hired and paid $2.5 million in base salary to bring a more proactive style to the U.S. men’s national team. Instead, the same defensive tactics from the Bob Bradley and Bruce Arena eras were deployed against Ghana. The result was different, but only because of Ghana’s inability to finish. The same won’t be said for Portugal or Germany should either be given the same opportunities. The two European powers should still be considered the favorites to escape Group G.
Up Next: Ghana visits Fortaleza to meet with Germany on June 21, while the United States travels to Manaus to face Portugal on June 22.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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