The United States is all too familiar with World Cup Round of 16 foe Ghana. It was in the last World Cup four years ago that Ghana eliminated the Americans, sending them home with a disastrous three-and-out showing. Tomorrow (2:30 p.m., ABC), they finally get a chance to make amends.
“That wasn’t a good day for me or the team, and what I remember most personally is my tentativeness and the feeling afterwards, the finality of it and how disappointing that was,” said Landon Donovan, who fired the U.S. into this tilt with his 91st-minute winner against Algeria.
“I’ve been impressed with them. I thought they’d struggle a bit without [Michael] Essien, but they’ve looked very good. They’re going to be a very difficult team to play with. Clearly their athleticism will be difficult to deal with.”
There will be a couple keys to doing that. The U.S. will need to avoid coughing up early goals like it did vs. England and Slovenia, make Ghana work for its scores, and reprise its second-half performances vs. Slovenia and Algeria.
“They’re physical, strong, fast; they can create special moments 1-on-1,” said goalkeeper Tim Howard. “As individuals, that plays to us because we’re strong and fast and we like to go head-to-head. If we do the same things we’ve been talking about, defending well as a unit, staying compact, I think the game will open up for us.”
Still, despite the physical challenge Ghana is sure to present, the U.S. can’t afford to give up early goals or cheap fouls. Ghana — with its conservative 4-5-1 formation — excels at both holding leads and drawing penalties, its only scores in this tourney coming off two Asamoah Gyan penalty kicks.
Gyan is a prototypical lone striker, and with Essien hurt, teammates just hoofed the ball to him, and it has worked . . . somewhat. Four of Ghana’s last seven games have been 1-0 wins, but it hasn’t rallied for a victory or even scored twice since last November.
So while it’s important to score first and test Ghana’s resolve, it’s even more vital to make the Black Stars work for their goals. They haven’t scored from the run of play, errant and lacking composure in front of goal. They may cede possession and look to hit the U.S. on a counter with their pace — disastrous in a game that likely won’t be as open as U.S.-Algeria was.
CB John Mensah is EPL seasoned, but with Isaac Vorsah likely out, Ghana would pair skinny 19-year-old Jonathan Mensah next to his namesake. That would be a key matchup with physical Jozy Altidore, as would Ghana’s three-man central midfield vs. Michael Bradley and Maurice Edu.
That duo will need to win the ball against Prince Boateng and tiny Anthony Annan, and get it to Donovan and Clint Dempsey. In a game where one play may decide it, Donovan and Dempsey are the duo most likely to provide it.
brian.lewis@nypost.com