U.S. World Cup team knocked out by Ghana

RUSTENBURG, South Africa - The United States' African hopes bowed to the hope of Africa.

Underneath the shining lights of Royal Bafokeng Stadium, its bulbs made brighter by the surrounding darkness, the U.S. team was eliminated from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first on African soil, by the continent's only remaining team, Ghana.

It took 120 minutes - 30 more than regulation - but when it had ended in a 2-1 score, there was smoke in the night sky, from the region's controlled fires, and enough American disappointment to fill the stadium.

So much felt familiar about Saturday's match - an early goal surrendered, a furious push late - but as time ticked away, the U.S. team's chances did not multiply, its energy did not increase.

The miracle goal did not come.

After two halves of regulation time, the United States and Ghana were tied, 1-1; after two sessions of extra time, Ghana had defeated the U.S. team to advance to Tuesday's World Cup quarterfinals against Uruguay.

Ghana's second goal, the game-winner off the left foot of striker Asamoah Gyan, came only a few minutes into extra time and seemed too heavy a blow for the battered American team, which had absorbed so many hits over so many matches.

"We tried to push and push," said U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra. "I don't know if we just didn't have anything left because we've been pushing so much the entire tournament."

Gyan's goal had no warning signs, no frightening buildup. It began merely as a cleared ball looping into open space between Bocanegra and teammate Jay DeMerit. But as the ball spun through the stadium lights, it was Gyan who filled the empty space, taking the ball on his chest with Bocanegra on his side, directing the ball away from the defender, then toward his left foot, and then taking it swiftly off its second bounce and lifting it just past the fingertips of Tim Howard, the U.S. goalkeeper.

The replay showed the Jabulani, Adidas' game ball, brushing the tips of Howard's gloves on its way toward the goal.

"The flight of the ball was a bit strange," DeMerit said. "I remember looking at it kind of looping. Those balls are hard to run onto sometimes. It was a bit of a footrace; we knew their forward was very sharp. He got there first - sharp forwards, they wait for balls like that."

After watching his clever strike clear the last line of U.S. defense, Gyan sprinted off the grass and to the stadium's corner, letting his teammates follow and then soaking up the crowd's excitement - South Africans are Ghanaians now - as if it were the midday sun.

"Yes, we feel that we have a continent behind us, that we have Africa behind us, and that has given us a lot of energy to fight more," said Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew.

Nearly 25 minutes of extra time still remained, time enough for an equalizer, but the U.S. possessed no more lifelines. The final whistle was met with disappointed exhaustion, some players lying on the grass, others walking to the bench and staring onto the field.

"We put a lot into it to get back to 1-1," said U.S. coach Bob Bradley.

A slew of second-half chances - the U.S. created the better opportunities after halftime - resulted in a penalty kick converted by midfielder Landon Donovan but earned by Clint Dempsey's run into the box.

Donovan's shot hit off the right post and swirled into the goal, tying the game at 1-1 in the 62d minute, exactly 57 minutes after Ghana had gone ahead, back when the match was only a few minutes old.

"I guess the warning signs were there, getting scored on early, and it came back to bite us," summarized Donovan, whose team surrendered early goals in its first two World Cup matches.

In the game's fifth minute, U.S. midfielder Ricardo Clark turned over the ball in a dangerous spot, just short of midfield; a few seconds later, Ghana's Kevin Prince Boateng had the ball on a breakaway, shifting speeds and slotting a left-footed grounder past a diving Howard.

"I apologized for the goal," Clark said afterward. "A player with my experience, it's unacceptable for me to give a ball away like that in the midfield."

"Once again, we gave up an early goal," Bradley said. "And when you go down early in overtime, it's a case where you've put yourself in that spot one too many times."

It ended as the U.S. team's only loss of the tournament, but it came in the first match where losing was lethal.

On this night, against this African team, there was no magical comeback, no injury-time goal, no late-game stake to be driven through the opponent's heart.

It was the United States that heard the final whistle and was left to wonder about what might have been.