Natal (Brazil), June 16 (IANS/EFE): Ghana will seek inspiration from their 2010 World Cup performance when they take on the USA in their Group G opener of the World Cup at the Estadio das Dunas here Tuesday.
The two teams are in tough Group G with Germany and Portugal, who facen off Monday. Last time, Ghana made it to the quarters on African soil and this time they will be looking to at least make it to the knock-out stage, reports EFE.
Both Ghana and the USA will fight for the three points before meeting their European opponents. Ghana and the USA met four times before, with the Black Stars winning all four encounters. The last two were in the 2006 and the 2010 World Cups.
The Yankees will have revenge on their minds, after the Ghanaians eliminated them from the 2010 World Cup pre-quarter-finals with an extra time 2-1 win. Ghana were then eliminated after a controversial loss against Uruguay in the quarter-finals, missing out a chance to be the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final.
According to FIFA last rankings, the USA are 13th and Ghana 37th.
"It’s going to be like a revenge (match) for the United States, because we beat the United States in 2006 and we beat them in 2010. And once again we're playing them in the first game. For the first game of the competition, everybody is focused and nervous, so it's going to make the game very, very interesting.” Ghana’s defender Jonathan Mensah told FIFA.com.