NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 17: Folarin Balogun #20 and Gio Reyna #7 of the United States react as a Ghana player sits on the ball causing a stoppage in play during the first half of an international friendly at GEODIS Park on October 17, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

USA 4-0 Ghana: Feckless Black Stars humiliated in Nashville friendly

October 18, 2023 Leave a comment

The Black Stars of Ghana suffered annihilation against the United States of America (USA) in their second friendly game of the October international window.

A comical first-half performance saw the Americans score four unanswered goals inside the opening 40 minutes of the game with Giovanni Reyna grabbing a brace.

Reyna opened the scoring in the 10th minute for the USA, taking advantage of another poor defensive display from the Black Stars to give his side the lead.

The lead was doubled in the 19th minute with AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic scoring from the penalty spot after Timothy Weah had been fouled in the box.

It didn’t take long until the third goal was added with Weah forcing debutant Jerome Opoku into making an error before setting up Folarin Balogun to extend the lead to three.

Things could have gone worse for Ghana in the 30th minute but Balogun’s header from close range fell into the kind hands of Abdul Manaf Nurudeen.

Nurudeen was once again called into action five minutes later as he denied Pulisic from adding to his tally on the day.

There was no stopping Reyna in the 40th minute as he netted USA’s fourth of the game and his second. The Borussia Dortmund man was the finisher in a well-worked free kick.

Mohammed Kudus forced Matt Turner into an excellent save a minute after conceding, registering Ghana’s first shot on target in the October international break.

After the recess, Hughton made one change with Kingsley Schindler replacing Gideon Mensah.

Both teams showed very little intention on the attacking front in the second half of the encounter.

The game ended with the USA claiming with the four goals scored in the opening half.

Chris Hughton made six changes to the team that began the fixture against Mexico with Nurudeen, Alidu Seidu, Jerome Opoku, Edmund Addo, Jordan Ayew and Inaki Williams all coming into the starting lineup.

Ghana ends the international break with two defeats having already lost to Mexico with a 0-2 scoreline over the weekend.

The loss also means Hughton has lost back-to-back games as head coach after going unbeaten in his first five games in charge.

The four-time African champions will regroup next month when they begin the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup before jetting off to Ivory Coast in January for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

By: Lawrence Degraft Baidoo