The knockout round is here and the match between the United States and Ghana on Saturday was a really anticipated 1 at the usa sportsbook.
A suddenly quite interested country that normally does not pay much attention to soccer was supporting the United States team. The US got a late goal from Landon Donovan to beat Algeria in their previous match in an extraordinary performance that had plenty of Americans beaming with pride. Ghana also guaranteed progression from Group D last week. The US was a slight fave in World Cup sports wagering in this match, and a lot of fans believed they would go all the way.
The United States was only three minutes away from not moving on from Group C when Landon Donovan won in injury time. In reality, videos of the reactions of United States fans to Donovan’s last-minute goal circulated the Internet, at some point reaching Donovan himself and bringing him to tears. The 1-0 win gave the United States the top spot in Group C so not only did the United States defeat Algeria they also won Group C and avoided Germany in the round of 16. Instead the US gets Ghana which, on paper, seemed as though a much easier match. England concluded second in Group C and they went on to compete with Germany in the knockout round. Germany overcame the team in an embarrassing 4-1 final score, and the English team were removed at that point.
The United States had played fairly well in the World Cup at that point with a victory and 2 draws. They have been struggling to score goals though and they’ve also had some bad luck. They easily might have had at least three goals in the previous match versus Slovenia and 2 or three versus Algeria. Clint Dempsey has created plenty of chances and Donovan has been solid in the World Cup. Even Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley have performed well. Defensively the United States was giving up a few chances but they have a fantastic goalkeeper in Tim Howard.
Ghana still progressed considering Australia upset Serbia in the other match, despite the fact that Ghana was coming off a 1-0 loss to Germany. Ghana and Australia concluded tied on points but Ghana won the goal differential. Ghana had the support of the fans on Saturday since Ghana is the only African team to make the knockout round. They were surely reveling in being the final outstanding African squad at the 2010 World Cup.
Ghana has some ability but they have actually had trouble to score goals. They’ve got only 2 in their three World Cup games. Their goalie, Richard Kingson bailed them out time and again versus Germany.
Ghana was basically a team that the United States might – and most likely should – have been able to beat on a regular basis. It’s not that Ghana is a poor team. It’s that the United States is basically better. So when the United States team was removed by Ghana with a final score of 2-1 on Saturday’s match, it was somewhat of a surprise, and almost certainly an emotional 1 to Americans.
Ghana will now be only the 3rd African team to make it this far by advancing on to the quarterfinals. On Friday they will be playing Uruguay.
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