Well, the USA is headed home for a second straight World Cup at the hands of Ghana. I really don't have a lot to say about the match...it wasn't what I expected. In all honesty, the first half was as dull and as uninspired a half of football you'll ever see. Once again, we spotted the other team a goal early on. In the second half we completely changed the personality of the game. I felt we could have scored the go-ahead goal during that stretch but it didn't happen. In the end, our lack of firepower and organization in the back finally caught up with us.
I was a bit surprised that Clark started instead of Edu in midfield. I'm not just saying that because Clark gave up the ball that led to the first goal and was subbed after 30 minutes. I honesty felt that the team was going to stay the same from the last game - if anything, maybe a different player at the striker position (but that's it). From the get go something just wasn't right. We either had the wrong personnel, wrong strategy, or wrong formation because Ghana were all over us. I don't know what it was just yet, but something in the gameplan wasn't right. Maybe that's another reason why we used our first substitute uncharacteristically early...to fix that problem. We looked really good when we kept possession and took what Ghana gave us rather then forcing the issue with the long ball to no one. However, I'm not sure whether it was us who changed in the second half or if Ghana got more defensive, allowing us to press the issue....or a combination of both.
This game was played in the same stadium as the England USA game...which is really unfortunate for the casual viewer. During the England game a few of us watching it noticed that the pitch size was extremely small. I mean, the 18 yard box practically covered an entire half. The field is narrow and short, which didn't work in our favor (in my opinion). There are minimum and maximum requirements by FIFA, but field sizes vary. A small field means a short and compact game, with very little space to work with. It also means a much less open and entertaining game. Since suitable stadiums are at a premium in South Africa, I think this one found its way into the tournament by default. I think this might be one area Bob Bradley made a mistake (in who he started up front). He also started Findley against England, and, like two weeks ago, Findley did nothing in this game. He is a speedster - and his game is entirely built on getting the ball played in behind the defense and running on to it. This field size makes that impossible. I would have liked to see Buddle, more of a possession striker, start in this game. In addition, we never really had any counter attacks or streaking runs by Donovan or Dempsey because there was no space to run around. There was a lot of congestion on the pitch tonight. Believe it or not, I think Howard didn't play well either...and if I had to list all of the players that I think had a good game I'd probably only mention Feilhaber. We really didn't play well like we did against Algeria, but Ghana are a much better team.
At the end of the day I'm happy with what the team accomplished and would definitely call this World Cup a success. Not only did we meet our expectations on the pitch, but I really think this team and this World Cup captured the interest of this country more then in the past. I think it's due to ESPN and their coverage - that is, we've really been exposed to the World Cup (and the sport) this time. It's just different then previous tournaments and I get the sense the sport is slowly making its way into consciousness of America. I feel in some ways this could be the turning point, the time we look back on and say "that was when it all began". It will never get bigger then our standard sporting lineup, but it seems poised to join the group.