USA will host Ghana for the first time on home soil in a friendly. The Black Stars lost 2-0 to Mexico over the weekend. The Yanks lost 3-1 to Germany after giving up three unanswered goals.
Preview (USA vs. Ghana)
On Saturday, the United States missed what appeared to be their best chance to win against one of the most successful footballing nations in history. The Americans lost the game after taking the lead for the second time this year (a 2-1 loss to Serbia). It was just the second time in more than two years that they had done so after scoring first. That was also their first loss following Gregg Berhalter’s reinstatement as manager.
This side has only ever lost consecutive games once, to Mexico in the 2019 Gold Cup final and to El Tri in a friendly matchup just a few months later (both by scores of 1-0 and 3-0). This is from Berhalter’s initial tenure as US manager to his current one. The Americans have won their last four games against African opponents, conceding just one goal during that span (a 2-1 victory over Ghana at the 2014 World Cup), since being eliminated by Ghana (2-1) in the round of 16 of the 2010 World Cup.
With no shots on target in their defeat to Mexico, Ghana had a poor start to the international window. The Black Stars had won their prior four games after scoring in the first half until their loss to Mexico. In their two previous games where they had given up first, they had battled back to win or draw. The US was eliminated from the 2006 and 2010 championships by the Ghanaians. They had a perfect 4-0 record against them before the 2014 World Cup group stage. However, they have already lost the last two encounters by scores of 2-1.
Team News
On Saturday, Folarin Balogun started for the fifth time since formally committing to the national team. Gio Reyna played for the US for the first time since the infamous feud between Berhalter and his family. Matt Turner made his team-leading 10th appearance of 2023. Tim Ream became just the fourth player in the modern era of this program (1990-present) to earn a cap. He joined Fernando Clavijo, Thomas Dooley, and Preki. Lennard Maloney is the only player selected for this international window who has never had a cap for his country, while Cameron Carter-Vickers made his first senior squad appearance since the World Cup on Saturday, coming on to replace Chris Richards in the second half.
In their most recent meeting, Christian Pulisic scored his 27th goal for the US, moving him up to fifth place all-time with the men’s team. The AC Milan winger now has 41 goals on the international stage, which ranks him fifth in US history behind Eric Wynalda (51), Jozy Altidore (56), Clint Dempsey (76), and Landon Donovan (115). Nicholas Opoku, Joseph Aidoo, Kingsley Schindler, Mohammed Kudus, and Antoine Semenyo were among the five Ghana players who started against Liberia (3-1 victory) and were still in the starting 11 on Saturday.
Thomas Partey played for the first time since June and is now four appearances shy of 50 caps. Stephan Ambrosius made his first career start for the Black Stars after earning his first career appearance. Jordan Ayew earned his 93rd senior-level cap by substituting against Mexico. With his next goal, Ayew would tie Wilberforce Mfum and Sulley Muntari for seventh place all-time in goals. The Crystal Palace striker presently has 20, one more than his father Abedi Pele.
USA 1 – 0 Ghana
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