Oh Ghana, not again. For the last two World Cups, the road to the semifinals for the United States went through Ghana. And itââ¬â¢s been a dead end.
Inà South Africaà in 2010, the U.S. surrendered a goal in extra time to lose 2-1 in the second round.
In Germany in 2006, the U.S. got punched out of the group stage 2-1 by Ghana, courtesy of a penalty call that was as mysterious as the Higgs Boson.
And facing their nemesis isnââ¬â¢t the worst news coming out of the World Cup draw for the U.S. After Ghana, the U.S. plays Portugal, which merely has one of the best players on earth to call on,à Cristiano Ronaldo.
And he will be banging on goalkeeperà Tim Howardââ¬â¢s door. Then, the U.S. plays Germany in Manaus, the most undesirable of the Cup cities given its location in the steamy Amazon.
The U.S.-Germany matchup is an intriguing one given that current U.S. coachà Jurgen Klinsmannà was the head man at Germany for the 2006 World Cup and won theà world championshipà as a player in 1990.
Klinsmann has spent the last year running the U.S. up against tough European teams to prepare his squad for the this kind of draw.
But he might not have imagined it would be this.
ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s one of the most difficult groups in the whole draw,â⬠he said. ââ¬ÅIt couldnââ¬â¢t get any more difficult or any bigger. But thatââ¬â¢sà what the Worldà Cup is all about.ââ¬
Can you say Group of Death?