The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team put together an excellent showing to take control of Group A at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup thanks to Ayo Akinola’s 75th minute strike that earned the USA a hard fought 1-0 win against Ghana.
A scoreless first half did not lack for quality or action between the two sides. The U.S. seized the upper hand after the opening 10 minutes, carving out a host of opportunities that had the Ghana defense scrambling or forced goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad into action. His counterpart at the other end, Justin Garces, also had to be on his toes in the later stages of the opening 45 minutes as Ghana was able to fight back into the game, but the U.S. ‘keeper and defense did well to limit the Black Sarlets to mostly speculative, long-range efforts.
The U.S. had done well in the first half to maintain the majority of possession in the first half and ultimately was able to do so again in the second despite a strong opening to the second stanza by Ghana. With the 90-plus degree weather beginning to take a toll, the U.S. defense bent but did not break as Ghana’s wingers began to get around the outside.
However, a smartly executed high press from the U.S. turned the game in its favor midway through the half as Chris Durkin came up with the ball deep in Ghana territory and initiated the passing sequence that ended with the ball on Akinola’s foot. The second half sub did the rest, beat multiple defenders and the goalkeeper with a deft finish to give the USA the 1-0 lead against the run of play.
Ten minutes later a clash of heads between U.S. captain Josh Sargent and Black Starlets Abdul Yusif reduced Ghana to 10 men as both sides had already used all three subs and Yusif could not re-enter the match due to injury.
With the man advantage, the U.S. put its foot on the ball, maintained possession and saw out six minutes of injury time to claim an impressive three points and go top of the Group A standings.
Credit: US Soccer
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS