World Cup
2010-06-26 - United States vs Ghana
A Sports Betting Pick by Goober
Football : FIFA World Cup : Round of 16
Saturday, 26th June 2010 - Kickoff 20.45 local
The second match on Saturday will be played at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.
The USA returns to the site of their 1-1 draw with England while Ghana played a 1-1 draw with Australia here as well.
United States (1-2-0, 1st place Group C)
The United States come into the game as surprise winners of Group C. Just 3 minutes from being eliminated, Landon Donovan instead put the USA into 1st place in the group.
As always it seems, the USA can show brilliance and incompetence almost at the same time. The 2-2 draw with Slovenia was the prime example. Defensive lapses put their tournament at danger down 2-0 in the first half, but they fought back to earn the 2-2 draw (and should have won as we all know now).
There were more defensive lapses against Algeria, but Algeria just didn’t have the ability (or luck) to take advantage. The USA also missed several easy chances and in the end was lucky to grab the win.
Their inconsistency was illustrated at last year’s Confederations Cup. Bad losses to Italy and Brazil to start before a 3-0 win over Egypt to qualify for the semi-finals. The semi-finals saw the United States end Spain’s unbeaten streak with a 2-0 win. They then had a 2-0 lead over Brazil in the second half of the final before falling 3-2.
Most positions in the lineup are set. It remains to be seen if Onyewu returns to the back for this match. If he doesn’t, Jonathan Bornstein will start. Nothing makes USA fans more nervous.
Three of the midfield spots are also assured with Donovan, Dempsey and Bradley. I would expect Edu to start in the group again, but there are lots of other possibilities. A sign of the USA's improving team is that Stuart Holden has barely been on the field in this World Cup. In years past, a player of his quality would have never come off the field.
Altidore will start up front, but it remains to be seen who will be along side him. Findley returns from suspension, but has not been great. Herculez Gomez would probably be the best option.
The US has only played African competition twice in the World Cup, a 2-1 loss to Ghana in 2006 and Wednesday’s win over Algeria. The USA did beat Egypt 3-0 in last year’s Confederation’s Cup at this same stadium.
Ghana (1-1-1, 2nd place from Group D)
Ghana finished 2nd behind Germany in Group D. They were level on points with Australia, but the Aussies opening 4-0 loss to Germany was too much for them to overcome.
Ghana is the only African team to qualify for the knockout stages despite being unimpressive in my opinion. The two goals that Ghana scored were both penalties (with the one against Serbia not coming in any real danger, just a horrible mistake from Serbia).
Ghana will of course have the advantage of the fans in this match as they have the whole continent behind them at this point.
Ghana has done well to advance despite the absence of Michael Essien. His absence is much of the reason the Black Stars have had difficulty scoring. Asamoah Gyan, who serves as Ghana’s only striker, has scored two goals from the penalty spot, but hasn’t been great otherwise.
Ghana’s main asset will be their speed and midfield play. Kevin Prince-Boateng, Prince Tagoe, Andre Ayew and Kwadwo Asamoah have created some good opportunities in the group stages, but the finishing touch has been lacking.
The back four includes solid players such as John Paintsil, John Mensah and Jonathan Mensah, all of which play for top flight European teams.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Ghana defeated the USA 2-1 in the last group game in 2006. Appiah converted a penalty just after Dempsey had equalized for the USA.
THE BETTING PREDICTION
If the USA can hold Ghana out for the first 15-20 minutes, they should win this in a game that offers the same intensity as the game with Algeria.
Ghana wasn’t impressive leading up to the World Cup and hasn’t improved much upon that. I can’t see USA not advancing, although I do have a slight worry it might take extra time or penalties.
The Pick :
USA 1-0 Ghana
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Take the United States AH +0 @ 1.875 (bet365)
