Round of 16 discussion: Ghana vs. United States of America

britblazerdude · Post #1 » by **britblazerdude** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:27 pm

Does the USA have a straight shot to the finals?

and1GS · Post #2 » by **and1GS** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:29 pm

We're going to be the underdog in this game despite the rankings. Ghana will basically have home field advantage and considering our history with them it will be a tough game. With that said we have a good shot at beating them. I'm saying a 1-0 victory from the U.S.

I have a question though, if you were Bob Bradley how would you counter Ghana's attack? From what I saw this game it kinda hinges on KPB and if he does something idiotic or productive.

britblazerdude · Post #3 » by **britblazerdude** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:37 pm

LMAO at the Ghana image. i better change that.

pass first · Post #4 » by **pass first** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:37 pm

^ Deny Gyan the ball as much as you can.

Going to be a battle this one, too close to call imo but if I have to pick a winner it's USA.

and1GS · Post #5 » by **and1GS** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:38 pm

What position does Gyan play? Striker?

AdamTheGreek · Post #6 » by **AdamTheGreek** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:40 pm

2-0 USA. Ghana has looked bad of late and USA will get those missed chances from the Algeria match to go in on Saturday.

pass first · Post #7 » by **pass first** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:42 pm

Yep. #3

He scored their only goals. out of penalties though so that doesn't say much. But imo he's the most dangerous, and he plays the deepest. The other players tend to shoot a lot from too far imo.

and1GS · Post #8 » by **and1GS** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:44 pm

Ah ok cool thanks for the info. KPB reminds me of Ronaldo when he was way too concerned with looking cool and doing tricks.

britblazerdude · Post #9 » by **britblazerdude** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:46 pm

USA 2-0 Ghana

milehigh · Post #10 » by **milehigh** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:49 pm

Brit can you hook us up with a poll? I think 2-0 USA as well.

ChronicKerr · Post #11 » by **ChronicKerr** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:49 pm

britblazerdude wrote:Does the USA have a straight shot to the finals?

Most definately not. They can certainly get to the semi's without having to play any of the powerhouses but let's focus on one game at a time. If we can get past Ghana we have the winner of Uruguay and South Korea. Definately a very favorable path nonetheless.

Rasheeed!!! · Post #12 » by **Rasheeed!!!** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:18 pm

I think USA will win. Ghana is luck to get this far. Gifted a win over Serbia, lucky to escape with a draw against a 10 man Aus and a loss to Germany. 3 games, 2 goals, 0 from open play.

cgf · Post #13 » by **cgf** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:31 pm

I think Ghana will get a lot of favorable calls in this game and when they actually play their way forward instead of bombing it at net from distance they're pretty crafty, that Gyan back heel today set up a beautiful chance that was poorly struck and superbly saved. Also KPB tried some nice through balls which could easily sneak through against a less experienced back line than ours. I think this game will be 1-1 at the end of regulation with someone scoring an overtime goal or winning on PKs. Either way I think Uruguay will beat either team because Forlan and Suarez can score on either of these teams and the Uruguayan defense is so tight that the winner of this game will either be suffocated or forced to over commit offensively.

Munchlaxatives · Post #14 » by **Munchlaxatives** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:41 am

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

cb4_89 · Post #15 » by **cb4_89** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:53 am

Ghana is terrible. USA should win unless they decide to play volleyball like Serbia and Australia. Ghana has scored on penalties only. USA isn't that good that it should easily win by scoring like crazy but I think they will score at least 1 goal and won't let in any non penalty goals.

and1GS · Post #16 » by **and1GS** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 5:04 am

Ghana is sneaky good and you can't underestimate them. Keep in mind that two ofthe teams they played (Serbia/Germany) had a couple of the very best backlines in the entire tourney. Communication will be vital, but they really seem to have trouble making anything happen in or around the 18. They kinda just say F it and become complacent with keepaway from 40 yards out.

Post #17 » by **BlackMamba** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:53 pm

This will be a very good game. Very fast paced.

Foye · Post #18 » by **Foye** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 2:06 pm

I picked Ghana to advance. Think they will score their first non-penalty goal in the tournament vs. USA and it's hard to score against them. :dontknow:

USA · Post #19 » by **USA** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 5:54 pm

Another 1-0 US victory. The US will miss good opportunities again but Dempsey will head home the winner in the 78th.

Post #20 » by **Sleepy** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:34 pm

Ghana has an incredible disciplined defense. During the match vs Germany, the space between the defenders looked like it was constantly measured via GPS. Their defenders really learned how to position themselves AND they got a great holding player and two central midfielders who'll also look to defend.
If England had won the group, I'd have picked Ghana to advance. Ghana looks to destroy the opposing game and they do best against predictable, set offensive systems which they'll just crowd and overpower.
I like the chances of the US boys better, as they probably won't run straight into the Ghanaian trap (as England would) and their game involves some sort of chaos-component, which is needed to break the Ghanaian defense down.
Germany needed a dozens touches circling the ball around their defense till Thomas Müller did something chaotic and took the ball right into three defenders. That created the room for Özil to score...
If you wanna beat them, do something crazy to get their defense moving... that's the key. England, with all their talent, is less likely to do that than the USA.

Who wins?