The United States got off to a dream start against Ghana. It quickly turned into a nightmare before an unlikely hero brought the U.S. three points it arguably didn’t deserve.
Clint Dempsey scored 34 seconds into the contest to give the U.S. the early edge. But from that point on it was all Ghana, as it dominated possession, helped by an uncharacteristically bad night from Michael Bradley.
To make matters worse, Jozy Altidore went down with what looked like a serious hamstring injury. Then Matt Besler pulled up lame, with another hamstring injury. Clint Dempsey was bloodied, but managed to soldier on.
In the second half, Ghana continued the onslaught until an Andre Ayew goal in the 82nd minute, sprung from a brilliant back heel from Asamoah Gyan, tied the action. But then minutes later, John Brooks silenced his critics with the game-winning header off a corner delivered from Graham Zusi.
Overall, the performance level will have to rise against Portugal on Sunday. But the U.S. lives to fight another day, with the full three points in hand, and if it can shore up some of the holes this game revealed, the knockout stages are a real possibility. Despite how the U.S. got the result, everyone involved will take it.
Player ratings
Starters:
GK Tim Howard (9) – Howard was excellent on crosses, which was good because Ghana whipped in a lot of them. He made a strong challenge early on to break up another attack and then had a key save early in the second half on Gyan as well. Nothing he could really do on Ghana’s equalizer.
D Fabian Johnson (6) – Had a nice venture forward in the second half though Ayew got a step on him for the goal. Fairly anonymous game otherwise, until his hard work won the corner that led to Brooks’ goal.
D Geoff Cameron (7) – It was Cameron’s best performance at center back in some time. He was strong in the air, marked well and made vital clearances. Wasn’t at fault for the Ghana goal, which was some masterful work by Gyan. Cameron was definitely one of the bright spots.
D Matt Besler (6) – Played his best game in weeks, which was huge in the first half, since Beasley struggled on his side. Unfortunately he went down with a hamstring pull and was subbed off at halftime.
D DaMarcus Beasley (3) – To put it bluntly, Beasley was roasted on the left. Ghana identified him as a weakness and attacked him over and over again as a result. It’s worth wondering if an uncomfortable Timmy Chandler might even be better, especially since it will get no easier facing Nani against Portugal.
M Kyle Beckerman (6) – Beckerman put in a hard-working shift. He wasn’t able to contribute in possession, which drops his rating down a bit, but was solid in defense and was part of the committee that had to help Beasley on the left.
M Michael Bradley (3) – There’s really no way around it – Bradley was flat out awful in this game. He was foul prone, careless with the ball and even made a boneheaded mistake late. Instead of dribbling into the corner with a minute left in stoppage time, he tried to create a scoring opportunity, allowing Ghana one more opportunity to go forward. This was one of Bradley’s worst games in a U.S. shirt in a long time. While it doesn’t change his status as the U.S.’s best outfield player, he will absolutely need to do better against Portugal. The good news is that he almost certainly will.
M Jermaine Jones (8) – While Bradley had one of his worst games for the U.S., Jones picked a fine time to arguably have his best. First, his simple touch set up Dempsey’s opener. Then he continued battling, taking as good as he got, while helping cover for Beasley on the left. This is the player fans were hoping the U.S. was getting when Jones switched his eligibility.
M Alejandro Bedoya (6) – Bedoya made some nice runs forward, but struggled a bit doing much with the little possession the U.S. had. But to his credit, he worked hard on defense and, despite limping for much of the second half, made some nice tackles to break up attacks.
F Clint Dempsey (7) – Simply put – Dempsey individual effort on the U.S. opener was masterful. Beyond that, he took a high kick to the nose which left him bloodied, but he continued. He also won a late free kick to help kill time. Beyond the goal, he didn’t do a whole lot, but after that effort, it’s hard to complain.
F Jozy Altidore (5) – Held up play well early on but was done in with a hamstring injury. It looked to be serious. Given how much Aron Johnnsson struggled in his hold up play after Altidore’s exit, that could be a big loss for the U.S. and possibly necessitate a change in tactics.
Subtitutes:
F Aron Johannsson (4) – Honestly, no impact. No service either. But Johannsson also made a poor decision in stoppage time to go towards goal, rather than playing keep-away. Inexperience for sure, but the performance won’t make anyone forget about Jozy Altidore.
D John Brooks (8) – Coming on for the injured Besler, Brooks had a bad clearance in the second half, though he recovered well to prevent Gyan from doing anything with the chance. He was solid for the rest of the way defensively, especially in the air, and then notched the winner on a corner. Brooks followed that up with a key defensive play on an ensuing Ghana corner. There will be ups and downs for the young center back, but he silenced his critics with that performance.
M Graham Zusi (6) – Zusi didn’t do a whole lot after coming on for Bedoya, but it was his corner that Brooks buried for the winner. That, ladies and gentlemen, is plenty.