PORTUGAL 2-1 GHANA
Portugal finally got the win they needed in this tournament but it was not enough as Portugal lose the second place tiebreaker against the U.S. and are headed home early along with Ghana.
It was a weird start to the day for Ghana. News broke early this morning that Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng had been kicked out of Ghana's camp. Boateng apparently had been verbally insulting manager Kwesi Appiah for days ever since being left on the bench to start Ghana's opener against the U.S. And Sulley Muntari supposedly physically assaulted a Ghana FA staff member, over unpaid bonus money that was promised to the players.
Muntari was suspended for today's match anyway but both players were dismissed by Ghana prior to the contest. One can only imagine what the state of the Ghanaian team was after the scenario. For what it's worth, Ghana did apparently get their bonuses. The cash (3.5 million dollars) was flown in overnight from Ghana. As a former investment banker, I don't want to know what that says about the Ghanaian banking system but I digress.
Ghana looked poor to start off the game. Portugal was all over possession and nearly found the opening goal off a Ronaldo cross that drifted towards goal and was only turned out by the crossbar. It was the first of several chances for Ronaldo in this game.
He came close again in the 19th minute, getting a free header off a Joao Pereira cross but the ball was too close to Fatau Dauda who punched the ball off the goal line. It was the highlight of Dauda's tournament apparently as he celebrated like Ghana had won the tournament after the save.
Portugal were not to be denied in the first half though but the source of the goal was unexpected. A Portuguese cross was awkwardly cleared by Ghana defender John Boye who ended up deflecting the ball off the inside if his post and in for an own goal. Portugal didn't care what the source of the goal was, as they had a deserved 1-0 lead.
Portugal nearly found a 2-0 lead off the break when yet another Boye clearance sailed just over his own crossbar and what was generally an awful day for the Rennes defender.
Absent from the game for much of the first half. Ghana turned up the pressure in the second half and it paid off in the 57th minute. Lax defending from Portugal led to both a free cross and free header at the back post for Asamoah Gyan who buried the ball to tie the game and strike fear in to the hearts of U.S. fans. Losing in their game, Ghana was now just one goal away from taking over second place and a spot in the knockout round.
Ghana nearly picked up the go-ahead goal 4 minutes later when they won yet another free header but Majeed Waris turned the ball just wide from the front of goal. Starting in place of the suspended Boateng, it was a poor finish by Wars and was the closest Ghana would come to taking a lead in this game.
Ronaldo had several chances to score again in this game but only converted on one in the 80th minute. Yet another poor clearance from John Boye (of course) was only cleared off the Ghana line by a Dauda punch. Unfortunately, that punch fell right to Ronaldo who had one of the easiest finishes of his Portugal career.
The goal secured the Portugal victory but well behind the U.S. in goal differential, it ensured both Portugal and Ghana would head home empty-handed from this tournament.
Goals
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo (80')
Ghana: John Boye (OG '30), Asamoah Gyan (57')
Discipline
Portugal: Joao Moutinho (Yellow 90+4')
Ghana: Harrison Afful (Yellow 39'), Majeed Waris (Yellow 55'), Jordan Ayew (Yellow 78')
Man of the Match
Cristiano Ronaldo was named Man of the Match and this time it wasn't just a matter of name recognition. Ronaldo had his best performance of the World Cup in this game, scoring the winning goal and being a general menace to Ghana at all times during the game. Probably should have had more then 1 goal in this game but can't take away from his performance today.
Key Moment
There was a feeling when the game was 1-1 that it wasn't going to stay that way and it was mostly American fans waiting for the result. A Ghana win would've sent them through to the knockout round but it was not to be. A poor clearance by John Boye in the Ghana penalty area led to goalkeeper Fatau Dauda being forced to punch the ball off his goal line. The punch fell straight to Ronaldo who calmly buried the ball in the net. Ironically that ball ensured neither team in this match would play any further part in this tournament.
What we learned from Portugal
Impressed with how well they came back in this group after the Germany loss. Felt they actually had a chance to threaten for second-place in this game but too many shots directed straight a Fatau Dauda in goal. Curious to see what the Portuguese future is in world soccer. Ronaldo will be 32 next time around and this team has been on a downward trend for years.
What we learned from Ghana
They didn't look good today. Not sure how much of that was Portugal picking their game up and how much was Ghana being a mental mess after the Boateng-Muntari debacle earlier today. Struggled defensively again (John Boye is just terrible) and didn't have the same flare on the wings as they usually do. This is a solid program when they care about playing though and we'll see them again sooner rather then later.
Advancement chances for both teams were slim and a narrow Portugal victory was one of the sure-fire ways for both teams to be eliminated. Both sides will head home early, but at least Ghana got their tournament bonuses! I may do a post later on this trend amongst African teams (hint: It won't be kind).
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