RUSTENBURG, South Africa — Of course, the United States could not keep playing like this and hope to survive in the World Cup, using stress as its inspiration, anxiety as its caffeine.
The Americans could not keep playing from behind like a distance runner, or a thoroughbred, waiting until those terrible, pressured moments before making a frantic rush for the finish.
Saturday night, there was no rescuing sprint as the United States lost to Ghana, 2-1, in the second round, continuing its maddening habit of giving up early goals — in the fifth minute of regulation, then again in the third minute of overtime.
In 390 minutes of play in the tournament, the United States led for only three. That is not the way to succeed, always chasing the game, expending huge amounts of physical and emotional energy to catch up, risking that there will not be enough vigor for the stretch run.
“Once again, we gave up an early goal,” Coach Bob Bradley said. “We put a lot into it to get back to 1-1. I felt at that point, we had a chance to finish the game. When you go down early in overtime, it’s a case where you’ve put yourself in that spot one too many times.”
The Americans tied the match on a penalty kick by Landon Donovan in the 62nd minute, but Ghana pulled ahead again in the 93rd minute, possessing greater resolve, punishing each mistake by the United States, playing for the entire continent of Africa while being serenaded by a vuvuzela chorus at Royal Bafokeng Stadium.
The West African nation is the only one of six from the continent remaining in the World Cup. Ghana will face Uruguay next, becoming the third African team to reach the quarterfinals, joining Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002.
“We fought for the continent, we fought for Ghana,” said the Ghanaian midfielder Andrew Ayew. “We made a lot of people proud.”
For the United States, this World Cup will not be considered a failure. The Americans achieved their objective of reaching the second round. Donovan again showed that he is an elite international player, delivering three goals in four matches, epitomizing the spirit of a team whose desire prevailed even when tactics were deficient.
Over the past year, reaching the Round of 16 here, defeating Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup, the Americans have raised their worldwide profile and level of respect. And yet, the national team left the World Cup disappointed that a huge opportunity was missed.
The United States had an inviting path to the semifinals in a bracket that was not impeded by the likes of Brazil, Spain or Argentina. And the Americans had stars like Donovan and Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard in their prime, with a golden chance to broaden the appeal of a sport as record audiences watched on ESPN, embracing this team for its tenacity and white-knuckled determination.
“We felt like we had a great opportunity, not to go to the final, but certainly an opportunity to get through and progress,” Howard said. “We just gave ourselves too much of a mountain to climb.”
There will be no chance of redemption until the next World Cup in four years. In the meantime, decisions must be made, starting with whether Bradley will return as coach. “I don’t think it’s the time to talk about my situation,” he said.
And there are urgent issues to address on both sides of the ball.
For a second consecutive World Cup, the United States failed to get a goal from one of its forwards. Jozy Altidore played encouragingly and made superb passes that led to critical goals against Slovenia and Algeria. Still, he did not put the ball into the net. Neither did Robbie Findley, who started for a third time on Saturday but again did not seem to have the touch or skill to match his speed.
One can only wonder how much more potent this team might have been had Charlie Davies continued to emerge on the field instead of hobbling through the convalescence required after a car accident.
“When you go through four games, you feel like you’re creating some chances, trying to attack, you count on everybody for goals, but let’s face it, you count on your forwards,” Bradley said.
And then there is the exasperating question about why this team gave up so many early goals — in the fourth minute to England, the 13th minute to Slovenia, the fifth to Ghana। Was it a natural caution emanating from a circumspect coach? Nerves? No one seemed to have a good answer. But it was clear that small mistakes on defense had huge consequences.
Overall defensively, goalkeeping as well, we need to make teams work a lot harder for goals,” said Howard, who did not have his best night on Saturday. “At this level, when guys get inside you and in the heart of the D and in the heart of the penalty spot, you’re asking for trouble. You can see that happened too many तिमेस
Saturday night, Ricardo Clark, who had not played since the opening match against England, started in central midfield as Bradley sought fresh legs on a team that was playing on two days’ rest. But in the fifth minute, Clark dribbled hesitantly at midfield and was stripped of the ball, sending Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng on a searing counterattack. Until that moment, Boateng had gained his primary visibility in a negative manner for Portsmouth, his English club team. Last month, a dangerous tackle by Boateng in the F.A. Cup final on Chelsea’s Michael Ballack had left Ballack with an injured ankle and Germany without its captain in the World Cup. The efforts by Boateng will now be tempered by a stirring goal in the World Cup. With Clark chasing futilely, Boateng turned the furiously backpedaling Jay DeMerit around in the tattered American defense and fired a hard, low shot from the top of the penalty area. Howard was caught off his line and appeared slow to react, and Boateng’s shot ripped inside the left goal post, putting Ghana up, 1-0. In the 31st minute, Clark was replaced by Maurice Edu. As the second half began, the Americans showed a familiar sense of desperate urgency. In the 62nd minute, Dempsey was taken down in the penalty area and Donovan took the resulting penalty kick, ricocheting the ball off the right goal post into the net, tying the score at 1-1. The Americans seemed to have more energy now. The game seemed to be switching in their favor. “I thought if anyone was going to score at that point, it was going to be us,” Donovan said. But it was not. In the third minute of overtime, a long pass came out of Ghana’s midfield to forward Asamoah Gyan. He shouldered the ball and outmuscled Carlos Bocanegra, who seemed to slow, perhaps with a cramp in his leg. The ball bounced twice and Gyan launched a left-footed rocket right over Howard’s outstretched hands, putting Ghana up, 2-1. Africa still had life in the World Cup, while time was running out on the United States. “I think we were the fitter team,” Donovan said. “We had more energy in the second half and overtime, but when you’re consistently behind in games, it’s difficult to get back into it.
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