A 75th minute strike from United States of America's substitute striker Ayo Akinola, against Ghana at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday, was enough to help the North American side become the first team to reach the knockout stages of FIFA under-17 World Cup.
Akinola, who joined the game as a substitute for Timothy Weah at the 63rd minute, took just 12 minutes to find the winning goal for the Yanks.
The Ghanians produced waves of counter attack at the beginning of the second half but failed to make them count.
The second half started with a double attempt from Ghana's Sadiq Ibrahim near the post, which was twice blocked by Chris Durkin in a matter of seconds.
Soon, African midfielder Kudus Mohammed burst deep into the box from the right but his low cross was intercepted by left-back Gloster. But the best chance fell to Emmanuel Toku, who was found free in the penalty box through a cross by Sadiq Ibrahim from right wing. But, to the disappointment of coach Samuel Fabin Kwesi, Toku's shot was way off target.
Soon the momentum of Ghana's attack was halted through series of substitutions. And quickly USA took control of the match, and started gaining confidence up the field before they sealed the game.
The African side played the last 12 minutes — including the six minutes injury time — with 10 men as centre-back Abdul Yusif was stretched off the field after a head collision in an aerial duel with US striker Joshua Sargent. He was later rushed to hospital in an ambulance after being unconscious.
Earlier in the first half, both the teams started the match cautiously. Keeping in mind the heavy pressing ability of Ghana up the filed, USA coach John Hackworth opted for a 4-3-3 formation, instead of the 4-2-3-1 he used in the previous match. The plan did work in their favour as Ghana couldn't catch USA often on counter like they did against the Colombians in the opening game.
The first half saw lack of clear cut chances as both teams cancelled out each other's attack effectively. Skipper Eric Ayiah, who came close to scoring on multiple occasions in the first game, was ineffective for majority of the half and was isolated from his strike partner Mohammed Aminu.
Aminu was later subbed off for Gabriel leveh in the second half. The quick wingers of Ghana — Toku and Sadiq remained ineffective against the USA's fullback duo of Segino Dest (right-back) and Chris Golster (left-back) in the first half.