It took Team USA 34 seconds to show the world that they were to be taken seriously this year.
With people still trying to find their seats, Clint Dempsey scored the sixth fastest goal in the history of the World Cup, shocking their rival Ghana before they even broke a sweat Monday afternoon.
But from that moment on, it seemed that the U.S. soccer team was playing defense for the majority of the match, as the Ghana team attacked aggressively and controlled what seemed to be the majority of the match. And just as you thought Team USA would hold off the opponent who knocked them out of the two previous World Cups, Andre Ayew scored in the 82nd minute to tie it at one.
The tie wouldn’t last for long as four minutes later, Team USA rookie and substitute John Brooks scored off a corner kick in the 86th minute to end the American’s losing streak to Ghana. The first time an American scored in their World Cup debut.
The win puts them at the top of Group G with Germany with three points, while Portugal and Ghana share the bottom slot with zero points.
With all the controversy surrounding the snub of Landon Donovan, recent comments by Jurgen Klinsmann and the Ghana rivalry, this victory is what Team USA needed to help relieve some of the pressure and to move forward with some positive energy. Hopefully they can keep riding this wave of excitement and improve on their game going into Sunday’s match versus Portugal, because they’re going to need it against a very good team who’s looking for their first win.
I think Will Ferrell summed it up best in “The Other Guys”, on how I’m feeling right now.
AMERICA!