Blacks Stars make Africa proud.. Beat USA in Extra Time

18:30 GMT, June 26, 2010
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa



United States
1 - 2
Ghana

Asamoah Gyan kept the African flag flying at the World Cup with a spectacular left-foot strike in extra-time to take Ghana through to their first quarter-final.


It was the second time in successive World Cups that Ghana had defeated the United States, having effectively dumped them out of the tournament four years ago by beating them in the final group game.

Scoring Summary

United States	Ghana
Landon Donovan (pen 62')	Kevin-Prince Boateng (5')
	Asamoah Gyan (93')

Match Stats

United States

Ghana

20(6)	Shots (on Goal)	16(6)
11	Fouls	19
5	Corner Kicks	4
1	Offsides	4
51%	Time of Possession	49%
3	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
4	Saves	5

Match Information

Stadium:	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa
Attendance:	28,646
Match Time:	18:30 GMT
Official(s):	Viktor Kassai

Man of the Match: Richard Kingson 

MATCH SUMMARY

Man of the Match: Richard Kingson - Although Asamoah Gyan will get the headlines for his winning goal, it was the form of goalkeeper Kingson that allowed Ghana to get to extra-time in the first place. He made three great saves in regulation time, the pick of which was to deny Benny Feilhaber in a one-on-one.

USA verdict: Yet another slow start for the USA meant they were up against it from the start. Ghana swarmed all over their midfield and defence and coach Bob Bradley was forced to make tactical change after just 30 minutes - replacing holding-midfielder Ricardo Clark with Maurice Edu. The change allowed the USA to get back into the game and, in the second-half, got the goal that their improvement deserved. But as the match restarted for extra-time the trademark early lapse of concentration returned as Ghana scored and this time they could not recover.

Ghana verdict: The Black Stars began in rampant fashion - scoring after just five minutes and then carving through the USA midfield with ease for the next 30 minutes. However, Ghana allowed the USA a foothold in the game before the break and in the second-half could not regain their dominance as they dropped deeper and deeper and invited pressure. Milovan Rajevac's side started extra-time in quick-fire fashion once again and took the lead just two minutes after the restart. Steven Appiah's calm assurance and rediscovered self belief saw Ghana through to the end.

Could do better: Ricardo Clark - He was selected ahead of Jose Torres and Maurice Edu in central midfield but his first contribution was the error that lead to Ghana's opening goal. He lasted only 30 minutes as the game passed him by before being hauled off. The poor lad may never recover.

Stat attack: The USA led for only 206 seconds at the 2010 World Cup.