JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - LATE game goals by Ghana and Uruguay allowed each team to advance to the final eight teams of the FIFA World Cup yesterday (June 26) in South Africa.
In the highly anticipated match between Ghana and the United States, the sole remaining African nation in the tournament put the Americans under pressure within the first five minutes when Kevin Prince Boateng stole the ball from Ricardo Clark at midfield and surged up the left side uncontested to slot a rocket past US goalkeeper Tim Howard.
The 1-0 deficit put the US on its heels in the first half and Ghana maintained a majority of the possessions. What few opportunities the US did open, Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson skillfully deflected.
Following the break, momentum shifted into the Americans’ favor as the fast pace established by Ghana early seemed to have wore the team’s stamina down. The US nearly equalized immediately after the break when Jozy Altidore fed a well-placed cross to Benny Feilhaber, but Kingson once again stepped up and aggressively chased the ball down for the stop.
Around minute 61, the US saw another good chance when Clint Dempsey broke away from his mark just outside the area and seemed headed for a goal. However, Jonathan Mensah delivered a huge tackle that sent Dempsey to the pitch and created a penalty opportunity for the US.
World Cup veteran Landon Donovan took the shot for his side and easily beat Kingson at the right post to make the score 1-1 in minute 62. The US continued to pressure through regulation time, but did not find a late game winner as they had done against Algeria to finish at the top of their group earlier in the week.
The Black Stars opened the 30 minutes of extra time just as they had regulation play, with Asamoah Gyan collecting a full sprint pass from midfielder Andre Ayew to beat two US defenders and slot the game winner in minute 93, thus replicating the West African side’s 2-1 victory over the US in 2006 to advance.
Earlier in the day, Luis Suarez starred in a hard fought battle with South Korea to advance Uruguay to the final eight with a 2-1 victory.
After a near goal for South Korea on a free kick by Park Chu-Young, Uruguay striker Suarez picked up a rebounded shot in minute eight to beat goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong for the 1-0 lead.
Korea greatly controlled the ball throughout the first half, but Uruguay’s patient defence, which had not given up a single goal in the first round, proved too effective for their Asian opponents.
Amidst unrelenting rain in the second half, South Korea finally found its opportunity on a free kick from Ki Sung-Yueng, which was made good on a header from Lee Chung-Yong to bring the score to 1-1.
Suarez then struck a curling winner in minute 80 off of a Diego Forlan corner kick to put Uruguay up late in the match and pressured South Korea into a frantic scramble in the final minutes. Uruguay held their mettle, however, and easily advanced to a final eight matchup against Ghana on July 2.
Today’s (June 27) matches will feature highly anticipated clashes between Argentina and Mexico at Soccer City, as well as Germany and England squaring off at Free State Stadium.
