Black Stars ready to shine on
Defender Jonathan Mensah says his team cannot wait for their quarter-final against Uruguay in Soccer City, Johannesburg on Friday after putting out the United States 2-1 after extra time in the Royal Bafokeng stadium on Saturday night.
Ghana are only the third African team to reach a World Cup quarter-final after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002 and they intend to approach their last-eight tie in exactly the same way they beat the USA, by showing no fear.
Mensah said: “All Africa is looking to us. We are not worried about Uruguay. We weren’t worried about the USA. We played them and won so we are going to do the same thing.”
Ghana have been accused of being too defensive, playing with just one striker in Asamoah Gyan but Fulham’s John Pantsil said: “I don’t think there is anything to change in our game, we are going to stay to our gameplan – just relax and play our normal, good football and keep our positions and heads together and keep our discipline.
“We play as a team. The coach wants one to play up front so we stick to that. If we are tactically indisciplined we won’t succeed.”
Portsmouth’s Kevin-Prince Boateng put the Black Stars ahead but when Landon Donovan equalised from the penalty spot in the second half it looked as if the USA were going to pull off yet another of their famed comebacks.
Gyan, who plays for French club Rennes, had other ideas, crashing home a spectacular winner three minutes into extra-time after shaking off the challenge of USA captain Carlos Bocanegra.
After finishing top of Group C above England, Donovan, in particular, viewed it as a missed opportunity. The Los Angeles Galaxy star said: “We were extremely fit and when we scored they were down. We thought if anyone was going to score a second goal it was going to be us. But they made a great play and that was all that was in it.”
Donovan, who scored three goals in his four matches, said: “I am very proud of how I played and I can hold my head high and I am very proud of the team. We did a good job. You can’t win every game. Ghana are a very good team.
“I’m not sure they had a real chance in the second half. We feel we should have won this game.”
Ghana, however, were a revelation. They had scored just two goals in the group phase, both from the penalty spot to beat Serbia and to draw against Australia. But their team bonding was obvious from the group huddles in pre-match, at half-time and at the end.
Rajevac said: “Ghana are now among the eight best teams in the world. When we reached the final of the African Nations Cup the boys learned how to compete. That is the most important thing and I now hope Ghana will go further.”
USA: Howard, Cherundolo, DeMerit, Bocanegra, Bornstein, Dempsey, Bradley, Clark (Edu 30), Donovan, Altidore (Gomez 91), Findley (Feilhaber 46).
GHANA: Kingson, Inkoom (Muntari 113), Pantsil, John Mensah, Jonathan Mensah, Sarpei (Addy 72), Annan, Kevin-Prince Boateng (Appiah 78), Asamoah, Gyan, Andre Ayew.
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary).
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