Ghana's Ayew celebrates his goal against South Korea during their international soccer friendly at Sun Life stadium ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Miami
Ghana's Jordan Ayew (2nd R) celebrates his goal against South Korea with teammates (L-R) Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan during their international soccer friendly at Sun Life stadium ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Miami, June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Final Score

Ghana 1 U.S.A 2

Overview

The fourteenth match of the FIFA World Cup 2014 is going to be held between Ghana and the United States. The Group G match should be interesting as it is a must-win match for Ghana as not winning this match may perish its dreams of going to the next round. On the other hand, U.S.A will want to make an impression early in the tournament.

Teams

Ghana: Ghana has always been a strong competitor. Its best performance was in 2010 when it reached the quarterfinals when it lost to Uruguay in a tie-breaker. It has a strong midfield and enough speed to unsettle any opposition. Ghana defeated South Korea (4-1), but lost to Netherlands (0-1) in pre-World Cup friendlies. The Black Stars can threaten the defence of any team in the world. Kwesi Appiah's men showed their potential against Egypt with a massive win (7-3). Asamoah Gyan, the top scorer of the nation, and midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng are capable of winning it for their team.

U.S.A: The U.S. team has recently lost to minnows like Honduras, Costa Rica and Jamaica. However, the pre-World Cup friendlies turned out well. It won against Nigeria (2-1), Turkey (2-1) and Azerbaijan (2-0). Its strength will lie in playing like a team. There are very few teams on the international level that are as organised as Klinsmann's. Jozy Altidore, supported by Clint Dempsey, must make it a point to impress its critics who often blame the team for lacking a creative spark.

Head to Head

These two teams played only once against each other. Ghana scored 2 goals, conceded one and won it.

Key Players

Ghana: Asamoah Gyan & Kevin-Prince Boateng

U.S.A: Clint Dempsey & Jozy Altidore

Date, Time & Venue

Brazil's time zone is UTC/GMT -3. The match starts at 7 pm (local time) on June 16, which means it is 8 am on June 17 in New South Wales, Australia. The match will be held at Estadio das Dunas in Natal.

Prediction

Ghana will show its firepower on the field. U.S.A won't be able to do much to defend against the African team. The final score will be 3-0 in favour of Ghana.

Group Predictions

Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F, Group G & Group H

Reference: FIFA

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

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