Four days after a humiliating loss to Germany, the Americans scored four goals in a dominant first half to crush Ghana, 4-0, on Tuesday night at Geodis Park.
“Our job is to keep building and progressing and getting better and improving,” coach Greg Burhalter said. “And when you see a half like the first half we played, it’s definitely an indicator that we’re getting better and improving.”
Gio Reyna, reunited with Berhalter for the first camp after their World Cup crash last year, scored twice and Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun added a goal each. They did so against one of Africa’s best teams, who made plenty of mistakes but also couldn’t keep up with the hungry and fast Americans.
The attacking four of Reyna, Pulisic, Balogun and Tim Weah, complemented by slippery right-back Sergiño Dest, stretched Ghana’s resistance with sharp combinations, clever runs and effective finishing.
“You could see the energy in the team, wanting to come out and show, after a tough game the other day, just to give it our all in the first half,” Pulisic said. “The kids really came out flying.”
If it weren’t for a couple of missed chances in the first half, it could have been a lot worse for the visiting Black Stars, who dropped a 2-0 decision to Mexico on Saturday in Charlotte. The goalless highlight came when goalkeeper Matt Turner’s long-range shot was perfectly connected by Pulisic sprinting into the Ghanaian end for a threatening run.
Reyna, 20, recorded the first two-goal game of his US career before he, Pulisic and Balogun were subbed off at halftime.
“The goal for Gio in this camp was to play him for 45 minutes [in each game] and send him off in a good way,” Berhalter said. “But a lot of it has to do with the mentality of the player. What I have seen from this camp has been great concentration and skill. So when he plays like that, like he’s been doing this whole camp, he’s definitely a guy that can help this group and it’s really good to see him respond like that.”
Through a team representative, Reyna declined an interview request. He has not spoken to the media since the World Cup.
“So much quality when he’s on the pitch. He definitely brings that to the game,” Weah said. “He’s one of my favorite guys to play with. I’m just happy for him. I’m glad he’s back. Hopefully he can come back [Germany’s Borussia Dortmund] and get more games. I’m just proud of him. That window for him was amazing.”
On Saturday in East Hartford, Conn., the Americans were dangerous on the attack against Germany and came through on Pulisic’s superb goal. But the second half belonged to the four-time world champions and resulted in the USA losing 3-1.
On Tuesday, the Americans played with insatiable hunger and ambition.
“It was fun,” Weah said. “That’s what we work for – everything is clicking.”
The scoring parade started in the 10th minute. Dest and Balogun combined beautifully before Balogun crossed the ball into the box. Defender Nicholas Opoku’s deflection fell to Reyna for an eight-yard strike and his first US goal since June 2021.
Nine minutes later, Pulisic converted the penalty after Gideon Mensah brought down Weah in the box.
Three minutes passed and then Weah’s pressure led to Jerome Opoku’s gift deep in the Ghanaian end. Weah passed to Balogun, who turned and fired home for his third goal in six appearances since leaving the English program to join Team USA this year.
The fourth goal came under unusual circumstances: an indirect foul in the penalty area after dangerous play by a Ghanaian defender. Balogun touched the ball to Pulisic, who laid it off for Reina. With a tangle of players in front of him, Reyna fired a shot that deflected into the top of the net in the 39th minute.
“It’s not something we train for every day,” Pulisic said. “We tried to figure it out right away. We came up with a few ideas and then stuck to one. We moved the ball well to catch them a little off guard.”
The second half brought several changes, promising runs from Dest and Weah, and Turner’s work for his sixth shutout of the year.
“We talked about using these two games as a learning experience — and we certainly did that,” Berhalter said. “We got some great insights from the Germany game and were able to compete against a really talented Ghana side and get a good result.”
Here’s what else you need to know about the US win:
Berhalter made three changes to his line-up, awarding left-back Christopher Lund with his first start and defensive midfielder Johnny Cardoso with his second, while adding centre-back Myles Robinson.
They replaced Joe Scally, Weston McKennie and Tim Ream, respectively. McKenney came on for Reyna at the start of the second half.
Eight starters were 23 years old or younger. Pulisic captained the team for the 19th time, tying him for 10th in program history.
Lennard Maloney, a German-American defensive midfielder in his first US camp, made his debut in the 65th minute.
Midfielder Yunus Musah played 75 minutes against the country where his parents were born. The World Cup midfielder was eligible to play for the United States, Ghana, Italy or England before choosing the USA program in 2021.
Team USA will learn its quarterfinal opponent in the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League as early as Wednesday. Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica also received byes. Jamaica and Honduras qualified through group play. Panama and Trinidad and Tobago claimed the bottom two spots on Tuesday.
Team USA’s first game will be Nov. 16 in Austin, the second away on Nov. 20 or 21. The matches fall within a FIFA international window, freeing players from their clubs to join the US team.
The winners of the quarter-finals advance to the final four in March and secure passage to the Copa America next summer. The losers of the quarter-finals will enter a play-off for the last two guest spots in the 16-team South American competition, which will be played at stadiums in the USA.