Sweet Revenge: U.S. Bests Ghana, 2-1, In Its World Cup Opener

By Scott Neuman / NPR

Published June 16, 2014 at 2:08 PM PDT

This story was published more than 10 years ago.

Clint Dempsey of the USA after scoring the 0-1 goal during the FIFA World Cup 2014 group G preliminary round match between Ghana and the USA at the Estadio Arena das Dunas in Natal, Brazil, on Monday.

The U.S. Men's National Team has beaten Ghana in group stage of the World Cup, payback for losing to the Black Stars in the last two World Cups.

USA team captain Clint Dempsey surged past Ghana's John Boye to score 29 seconds after the start of the game, marking one of the fastest goals in World Cup history.

But about 20 minutes into the game, star center forward Jozy Altidore was taken off the field with a strained left hamstring, leaving the Americans short a top scorer. In the second half, center defender Matt Besler also went out with a bad hamstring.

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Ghana's Andre Ayew tied it up some 80 minutes into the game. But USA's John Brooks followed up quickly with another goal to make it 2-1 with just a few minutes of play remaining. And that's where the game stayed until the whistle.

The game was attended by thousands of U.S. fans. As we reported earlier, one newspaper estimates as many as 20,000 have flocked to Brazil for the World Cup.

The U.S. plays Portugal on Sunday, considered a tougher opponent than Ghana. Portugal lost 4-0 earlier today to Germany, which is the third team the U.S. must face in the Group G competition.