USA v Ghana
FIFA World Cup: Round of 16
Saturday, 26th June 2010 – kickoff 20:30

USA

USA team have shown a real maturity in the game in all of their group matches and they well deserved the first place in their group after two draws and one last-gasp win against Algeria.

Even the two disallowed clear goals - one against Slovenia (by which they would`ve collected all three points) and one against Algeria did not prevented them from winning the tough group after which they will now have to face Ghana.

Team USA have gained momentum and have built very much needed confidence prior this match against Ghana. What impresses most about this team is that even if they go down by a goal or the things are not going their way, they quickly manage to refocus again and consolidate their game.

This is experienced team and finally they have shined - Landon Donovan is true leader of this team but the whole team has great individuals that play in strong European leagues. Although Donovan is a midfielder he is USA`s top scorer at World Cups with total of four goals scored so far.

It’s good for the coach Bob Bradley that he has his full squad available for this match. USA captain Carlos Bocanegra will command with the defense as a left-back while in the middle Michael Bradley, Stuart Holden, Maurice Edu and of course Landon Donovan as right winger will take their positions.
Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore will be the two strikers.

USA now will have a chance for revenge against Ghana, because Ghana was the team that have beaten USA at the World Cup 2006 in Germany by a penalty goal that sent American team back home after the group stage.

Ghana

Ghana have repeated their success from the last World Cup by reaching the Round of 16 which is even more notable, because this success is achieved with much younger group of players and in a tough group. Four years ago unfortunately they had to play with Brazil, but now they can hope to beat USA and make their biggest success ever.

With what Ghana have shown so far at the tournament they proved to be probably the best African team to represent their continent and they will likely get all the support by all African fans which will additionally motivate them.

There were reports that Sulley Muntari, the Inter Milan midfielder, would be sent home after a quarrel with coach Rajevac after the match against Australia, which was not denied by the player and the coach that that had happened, but they both have said that they will put aside their differences for the good of the team.

Coach Rajevac will again rely on his standard eleven that played in the last two group matches with two strikers- Prince Tagoe and Asamoah Gyan who has been one of the most valuable players for the team during the group stage. Kwadwo Asamoah and Kevin- Prince Boateng are expected to be main force in the middle and the experienced Isaac Vorsah will be back again in the central defense.

The Betting Verdict

I think that this will be a tough but interesting match to watch. Both teams have nothing to lose and have achieved a great success so far so i think they will open up and go for a win from the start. Ghana plays fast passing football with lots of running which matches American style so i expect a few goals here.

Both teams will be motivated to go further having on mind that in quarter-finals they will face the winner from Uruguay-South Korea which might (or might not) be a bit easier way to reach the semi-final than the other clashes in which the teams will have to beat the football giants in order to reach the semis.

I think these teams are pretty equal but i give slight advantage to the American team partly to their previous experiences and partly due to their maturity and stability in crucial matches. They have the momentum now and their “never quit” philosophy should bring another good result. Ghana`s lack of experience in matches like these, having on mind they have so many youngsters in the squad, might prove to be crucial in matches where the winner takes all.

The Pick :

USA 2-1 Ghana

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take USA to win this match and progress into the quarter-finals