It is the rematch we have been waiting for almost four years.
It seems like just yesterday. A warm and sunny day in Nuremburg, Germany.With Italy defeating the Czech Republic 2-0, all that team USA needed to do to advance to the knockout stages of the 2006 World Cup was to defeat Ghana. But it was an utter disaster, disappointment and debacle.
How vividly and painfully do I remember watching Claudio Reyna lose the ball in the 22nd minute deep in our own end, watching helplessly as a Ghanian striker Graman dribbled the ball with the speed and grace of a puma, striking the ball into the right side of the goal, past then goalie Kasey Keller.
A glimmer of hope of making the knockout stages was resurrected in the 42nd minute when then 23 year-old Clint Dempsey struck a bullet into the net, off a pass from DeMarcus Beasley. It seemed like us Yanks just might, just might, have enough to come back and win. But the feeling of hope didn't last long.
Just 5 minutes later, in stoppage time of the first half, Oguchi Onyewu was called for a foul in the box, and Ghana was awarded a penalty. Calmly and coolly, Stephen Appiah stepped up and put it in the back of the net. The dream was over.
So what have we learned since 2006? Let's break this crucial match-up down:
There will be two keys to this match-up; set pieces and who controls the midfield.
As we have seen in the last miraculous win by the United States, we are at our best when we control the midfield. It is going to be up to Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey to really push and control the pace of the game. When the find those open pockets of space, they are deadly and create the best scoring opportunities.
There is no doubt about it. Ghana is an athletic and well-conditioned team who plays great in the air. Ghana will test the physical capacity of team USA. Expect them to run up and down the pitch and really put pressure on the US team early. They know that the US has a history of giving up early goals. If they jump out to an early lead, it is going to tough to put together a comeback against this team. They are too fast, too well conditioned, and play great defense.
Team USA has something to prove this time around. The team looks like they are more united, playing better as each game goes on, and will take all that thunder and inspiration from the Algeria game and put it against Ghana. They know that whole country has caught soccer fever, from Nebraska, to New York, to Los Angeles. Heck, when Bill Clinton, Reggie Bush, are in your locker room leading a "USA! USA!" chant, you know your on too something! Let's hope this great run continues.
The game will air on Saturday, June 26th, at 2PM EST.
0 comments:
Post a Comment