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Wow, what a great day of play at the World Cup! I'm sorry for all the American fans but I couldn't help but be thrilled that Ghana made it through.
It was a great game - very physical and aggressive, but not dirty and with a wonderful absence of "embellishment" (aka diving). The referee was also top notch, making sure the game stayed fair but not interfering with the flow of play. The action was end to end and both sides had plenty of scoring opportunities. The passing was not quite as sharp as we'll see with the elite teams, but it was still pretty impressive how each team found ways to penetrate the defense and then how the defense would regroup to meet the challenge.
Ghana got off to a very quick star when a midfield turnover was exploited by Ghana's Boateng, who ran through the defense and beat the keeper at the near post. The US tried hard to equalize and after an hour, their perseverance was rewarded with a penalty shot. Donovan made no mistake and crunched the ball off the inside of the goal post. The keeper would have had no chance even if he'd guessed right on which way to move.
The game stayed tied for the remainder of regulation so they moved to extra time. Both teams had worked hard and were obviously tired, and fitness levels may have played a part in the winning goal. That's when Ghana's Ayew lobbed a beautiful pass - it must have been 30 metres - to Gyan, who controlled it with his chest, held off the challenge from two defenders, then struck a clinical finish. It was a worthy highlight to a wonderful evening. For the US, there is heartbreak but no shame in defeat - they played magnificently.
The Chile-Korea match wasn't nearly as thrilling, but it was still significantly more entertaining than I had feared. Chile scored a very quick goal and then seemed largely content to sit back and protect their lead. But Korea kept pushing and pushing and finally broke through at the 68th minute to equalise. That woke up Chile, who moved ahead again thanks to the always dangerous Suarez, who scored both Chile's goals in the game. Chile is the lowest ranked of the South American teams, but they still might prove a tricky opponent for Ghana in the quarter-finals.
Tomorrow we see the most competitive quarter of the draw begin. I don't expect Mexico will cause Argentina all that much trouble, but you never know. And the match between England and Germany is almost destined to be close, even though Germany has shown the better form so far. I predict a 2-1 win for Germany, possibly in extra time.
It was a great game - very physical and aggressive, but not dirty and with a wonderful absence of "embellishment" (aka diving). The referee was also top notch, making sure the game stayed fair but not interfering with the flow of play. The action was end to end and both sides had plenty of scoring opportunities. The passing was not quite as sharp as we'll see with the elite teams, but it was still pretty impressive how each team found ways to penetrate the defense and then how the defense would regroup to meet the challenge.
Ghana got off to a very quick star when a midfield turnover was exploited by Ghana's Boateng, who ran through the defense and beat the keeper at the near post. The US tried hard to equalize and after an hour, their perseverance was rewarded with a penalty shot. Donovan made no mistake and crunched the ball off the inside of the goal post. The keeper would have had no chance even if he'd guessed right on which way to move.
The game stayed tied for the remainder of regulation so they moved to extra time. Both teams had worked hard and were obviously tired, and fitness levels may have played a part in the winning goal. That's when Ghana's Ayew lobbed a beautiful pass - it must have been 30 metres - to Gyan, who controlled it with his chest, held off the challenge from two defenders, then struck a clinical finish. It was a worthy highlight to a wonderful evening. For the US, there is heartbreak but no shame in defeat - they played magnificently.
The Chile-Korea match wasn't nearly as thrilling, but it was still significantly more entertaining than I had feared. Chile scored a very quick goal and then seemed largely content to sit back and protect their lead. But Korea kept pushing and pushing and finally broke through at the 68th minute to equalise. That woke up Chile, who moved ahead again thanks to the always dangerous Suarez, who scored both Chile's goals in the game. Chile is the lowest ranked of the South American teams, but they still might prove a tricky opponent for Ghana in the quarter-finals.
Tomorrow we see the most competitive quarter of the draw begin. I don't expect Mexico will cause Argentina all that much trouble, but you never know. And the match between England and Germany is almost destined to be close, even though Germany has shown the better form so far. I predict a 2-1 win for Germany, possibly in extra time.
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Semi-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Round of 16 |
| Uruguay | Argentina | |||||
| 2-1 | Uruguay | (June 27) | ||||
| South Korea | Mexico | |||||
| (July 2) | ||||||
| USA | Ghana | Germany | ||||
| 1-2 a.e.t. | (June 27) | |||||
| Ghana | England | |||||
| Netherlands | Paraguay | |||||
| (June 28) | (June 29) | |||||
| Slovakia | Japan | |||||
| Brazil | Spain | |||||
| (June 28) | (June 29) | |||||
| Chile | Portugal |
