World Cup - Ghana 2-0 Czech Republic

Ghana have managed to beat the Czech Republic in quite possibly the biggest shock of the tournament so far. The Czech Republic, who are ranked second in the world, had a number of shots, but in the end were unable to find the final ball. They scored once, just after half time, but it was disallowed for offisde. However, the day truly belonged to the Ghanaians. Despite a missed penalty, goals from Amasoah Gyan and Sulley Mantari were enough to give them their first ever World Cup victory in their first ever World Cup.

The Ghanaians took the lead with the quickest goal of the World Cup so far. Asamoah Gyan latched onto Stephen Appiah's delivery and was able to drive the ball past Petr Cech, within 75 seconds. This gave Ghana a shock lead, and made the game very interesting.

The Czech Republic pressed forward in search of an equaliser, but some solid Ghanaian defending meant the teams went into the half time break with the score 1-0 in Ghana's favour.

Straight after the break, the Czechs pressed forward, and had the ball in the Ghanaian goal. Karel Poborsky crossed the ball into the Ghanaian penalty area, and Pavel Nedved headed the ball into the goal. However, he was deemed to be offside, and therefore the goal didn't stand.

The Ghanaians pressed forward as well in the second half, and they created a number of chances, almost of of them were saved by Petr Cech, who had a great game in the Czech goal. Things were made interesting in the 67th minute, however. Tomas Ujfalusi brought down Matthew Amoah inside the penalty area, and given the circumstances, the referee had no choice but to brandish his red card. The resulting penalty was smashed with a lot of power by Asamoah Gyan, but rebounded off the inside of the post. The Czechs still had a chance to get something out of the match.

However, they were still unable to break down the Ghanaian defence. Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, Ghana also pressed forward looking for their second goal to try and wrap up all three points, and in the 82nd minute they indeed scored their second goal. A flowing attacking move culminated in Sulley Muntari's powerful shot into the top of Petr Cech's goal. Cech could do nothing about this, and this looked to be Czech mate!

This result makes Group E look very interesting. Ghana and the Czech Republic are now level on points, but the Czech's goal difference is one superior than the Ghanaian's. The Czech Republic now face Italy in their last game, which is a match they need to get something out of. Ghana face the USA, and if results go their way, the may just find a way through to the next round.

Ghana 2-0 Czech Republic

Gyan 2
Muntari 82