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| Americans hoping to avenge defeat on Ghanaians or dreading of deja vu ? |
As a Ghanaian currently based in the United States, the draw does not get excitingly better than this.
A World Cup draw that sees the Black Stars of Ghana and their counterparts from the United States of America crossing each other's path for the third consecutive time on that same level is more than fascinating.
Not only that, the Black Stars will also have a repeat of a first round clash against Germany in the last edition as Joachim Low leads the Germans against the Ghanaians at the preliminary stage for the second time on the trot.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal may not have any recent history with the Black Stars but the mere mention of the Real Madrid life wire will surely send some shivers down the spines of many Ghanaians.
So what are some of the exciting highlights of such a group?
With a little superstitious believe, can a third successive meeting between Ghana and USA at the World Cup give the Ghanaians a glimmer of hope of qualifying to the next stage? After all, the last two encounters between the two sides went the way of the Ghanaians and also handed the Black Stars a progress to another stage of the competition.
Can Kevin-Prince Boateng lead the Ghanaians to avenge defeat on his brother Jerome Boateng and the Germans?
Will Jurgen Klinsman teach his friend and a former subordinate Joachim Low a soccer lesson when USA lock horns with the Germans?
More again, what will former Egyptian coach, Bob Bradley, who was in charge of the United States team that succumbed to the Black Stars in the 2010 edition in South Africa as well as the Egyptian side that fell heavily to the Ghanains in the play off to Brazil, tell Jurgen Klinsman who is currently in charge of the Americans?
While all these cycles of drama unfold, a certain fire power by name Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese teammates, under the guidance of coach Paulo Bento will be planning an ambush on the Ghanaians, the Germans and the Americans.
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| Asamoah Gyan's class act against the Americans in South Africa 2010 |
So what are the reactions of coaches of these four countries housed in Group G?
Coach of the Ghana Black Stars, Kwesi Appiah is not ruling out surprises.
"It's nice to meet Germany, and also USA who we beat in Round of 16 in 2010. We are a better team than in 2010 and I'm sure there will be a lot of surprises in this group", simply put.
For German Joachim Low, there would be more at stake than friendship.
"So, we will be meeting old friends. It's already something special to have the USA in our group. Jurgen and I have had a very good and close relationship for a long time. We have always exchanged ideas on a regular basis, but that will certainly change before the World Cup match", he warned.
United States German coach Jurgen Klinsmann succinctly explains the complexities of the group and also spared a thought on how to exorcise the painful Ghanaian ghost that have been following the Americans in the last two editions of the senior World Cup.
"I had a feeling in my stomach we’d get Germany. It’s one of the most difficult groups in the whole draw. Including having Portugal and Ronaldo, Ghana’s history with USA and of course, Germany; it couldn’t get more difficult or any bigger. But that’s what the World Cup is about and we’ll take it. Hopefully we’ll surprise some people there. We’re going to be prepared; we're going to be confident. Winning in Italy, getting a result in Russia will help us in our preparations."
As for Portuguese Paulo Bento, even though he has respect for the other group members, he is already focusing on their bid to make it to the last 16.
"It's a tight group with a favourite - Germany - because of their history and potential. Both USA and Ghana have good teams, well organised and good players in some of the best European teams. But our ambition does not depend on the group. We want to be in the round of 16 and that's what we will fight for", he concluded.
A relive of Ghana's impressive runs against American opposition in male FIFA World Cups
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| The Black Stars have left the Americans broken-hearted on two occasions and are ready to repeat the does |
Brazil is getting raedy to host the rest of the world in the upcoming FIFA senior men World Cup next summer and few hours after the draw,
pundits have already tagged Group G as one of the tough groups.
Over here in the United
States, soccer fans can’t wait to see Ghana and USA take recent hostilities on
the senior level to another height.
But the most exhilarating factor in the United States would be the sort of poignant memories the clash of Ghana and USA at this level will generate. Recent history at the senior level has seen Ghana as a bane on the United States and this is where the excitement of another Ghana-USA clash in world soccer is coming from. A recap of the last two editions of the FIFA Senior World Cup won’t be palatable for the Americans.
It all began in June 22, 2006 in Germany when Ghana handed the Americans a painful defeat that saw them exit the 2006 World Cup after the preliminary stage.
Ghana’s Haminu Draman began the demolishing exercise after just 22 minutes of play. He notched the ball off America’s captain Claudio Reyna, ran round him on the left wing, and slotted it with his foot into the far corner for the Black Stars first goal.
But after 43 minutes, USA’s DaMarcus Beasley played Clint Dempsey in with a well-timed ball from the left, and he slammed home from his vantage point on the right side of the box for the equalizer.
The first half was almost over when luck shined on the Ghanaians. Ghana’s Razak Pimpong fell to the ground, with Oguchi Onyewu standing quite close to him, and referee Markus Merk pointed to the spot to the chagrin of the Americans.
Ghana captain Stephen Appiah tucked it away, high and to the left, as Kasey Keller dived the other way.
That goal spelled doom for the Americans as they succumbed to the Ghanaians and were kicked out of the competition.
On Saturday June 26, 2010 in South Africa, the United States embarked on an avowed mission to revenge the painful defeat they suffered at the hands of the Black Stars in Germany 2006 but that was not to be as they were bundled out of the World Cup by the Ghanaians again.
Just after five minutes of play. Ghana’s Kevin Prince Boateng put Ghana ahead. Ricardo Clark lost the ball cheaply in midfield and Boateng ventured down the left channel, as Jay DeMerit backed off him.
From about 25 yards, Boateng decided to try his luck, spearing a low drive past Tim Howard at the goalkeeper's near post. Howard had left him an acre of space to shoot into at that post, putting the tin hat on a catalogue of blunders from the Americans.
But the Americans will make amends in the second half as they pushed for the equalizer in the 60th minute.
Clint Dempsey nutmeg John Mensah on his way into the Ghana penalty area and was subsequently brought down by Jonathan Mensah. The referee did not hesitate and awarded a penalty to the Americans. Landon Donovan made no mistake at the spot to bring the Americans at level pegging after 62 minutes.
The game was destined for a draw but the Ghanaians had other ideas. After 93 minutes of play, Asamoah Gyan stunned the Americans with a great goal.
Gyan beat Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit in a race to a ball hoofed up from the centre by Dede Ayew. The Ghana striker raced between the two defenders, managed to stay on his feet as Bocanegra tried to shoulder him to the ground, then glanced up and blasted a left-footed shot past Tim Howard from about 15 yards.
And that did not only break the hearts of Americans but also bundled them out of the World Cup by Ghana in a second consecutive time.
The Americans have suffered somewhat similar fate at the youth level.
In Turkey last June, the Ghana national U-20 side, the Black Satellites inflicted a painful 4-1 defeat on the Americans in their Group A encounter of the FIFA World Youth Championship. Frank Acheampong scored the opener in the 37th minute, thanks to a poor clearance attempt and subsequent giveaway by Will Trapp.
This followed a decent spell from the U.S., who looked like the more likely team to score for a period of around 20 minutes in the first half. The second half was a different story, with the U.S. looking poor from the start. Ebenezer Assifuah capitalized on a giveaway in midfield and scored a rocket from 15 yards in the 57th minute, putting Ghana 2-0 up.
Shane O'Neill scored from a corner with a header to bring the U.S. back into the game, but they fell apart shortly afterwards. Assifuah scored again in the 77th minute from a corner and Kennedy Ashia added the exclamation point in the 83rd minute, beating Cody Cropper with a shot between the keeper's legs.
Apart from the Turkey 2013 U-20 World Cup, Ghana once beat USA 1-0 in
the 1997 edition hosted by Malaysia .
So, as Ghana takes
their place in Group G of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil after
silencing an Egyptian side under the tutelage of American Bob Bradley, soccer fans in the United
States can only wait with bated breath for that cracker involving the USA and Ghana that will open the group G campaign on June 16, 2014.
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| Even at the youth soccer level, Americans still play second fiddle to Ghana |
Group draw for Brazil 2014 World Cup:
Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon.
Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia.
Group C: Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan.
Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy.
Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras.
Group F: Argentina, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Iran, Nigeria.
Group G: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA.
Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea.
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