Stars and Stripes vs. Black Stars Preview

Thanks to McClure for the wonderful image. The excitement in that locker room must have been incredible - so incredible that they were happy to drink Budweiser. I had no idea that Budweiser was not only was the official beer in the stands, but also in the locker room.

In any event, the futbol Buffet needed a good 30 minutes to catch his breath after the Donovan goal against Algeria. The team had gone 90 minutes playing their best game of the World Cup, and had somehow, inexplicably, failed to score a goal on a cowardly Alegerian side. Why cowardly? Because they could have advanced with a win, but instead decided to play like Greece.

But moving on to the Black Stars of Ghana: The more I think about this game, the more convinced I get that the U.S. should win. Ghana is without Michael Essien, but have found a new star in their central midfielder Andre Ayew. Asamoah Gyan is their France based striker who looks good all the way until he fails to score. That's a lot like Jozy Altidore. But the American team seems to have a good balance of going for goals and not being caught on offense.

I think Gooch is done for the tournament - he's just too slow right now. And although I have never liked Jonathan Bornstein because he tends to do really stupid stuff, he had a very nice game against Algeria. I can't think of a single bad play.

Proposed starting U.S. lineup:

Strikers: Altidore and Buddle
Midfield: Dempsey, Bradley, Edu, Donovan
Defense: Bornstein, Bocanegra, Demerit, and Cherundolo.

The futbol Buffet prediction:

U.S. beats Ghana 2-1.