It only took five days for the United States national team to get their chance to show out in the World Cup in Group G action (remember, this is the group of death) and to everyone’s surprise, the U.S. came out firing.
In the span of 31 seconds, Clint Dempsey already had a shot in the back of the net! Even Ghana was shocked at how the U.S. came out attacking, because they weren’t expecting the squad to get it done like that. It was the fastest goal ever scored in the history of the United States ever in the World Cup.
But that’s where the fun stopped. Until the second half, that is.
It’s a celebration bitches!
It was quiet for much of the first half following Clint Dempsey’s goal, with both teams losing out on a few opportunities, thanks to horrible communication.
There were multiple injuries for the U.S. squad as well, especially when Jozy Altidore went down in the 23rd minute with an apparent hamstring injury. Matt Besler was also out during the second half and replaced with John Anthony Brooks.
Ghana came out attacking in the second half, putting the U.S. national team with their backs against the wall, letting shots ring out a number of times, coming close on numerous occasions. Tim Howard kept the goal line free and clear until the 82nd minute, after André Ayew scored the equalizer thanks to a sick touch pass by Asamoah Gyan. It looked like momentum was on Ghana’s side and like they could even come up with another one before the end of the game.
Then that Besler substitution paid off big only four minutes later.
In what seemed from out of the blue, Brooks scored the game-winning goal off a header that not even Brooks himself believed, running out with a pure look of shock after the score. The entire team went out to jump him during the celebration.
The United States held on for the remainder of the match, even after the five minutes extra time the referees awarded.
Ghana dominated the U.S. with shots on goal and time of possession, but that didn’t matter at the end of the day. Even with injuries to their starters, the United States pulled off the 2-1 score to walk away with 3 points in Group G, trailing Germany.
Next up for the U.S., they take on last place Portugal on Sunday, while Ghana takes on Germany this upcoming Saturday.