Group E: Time to get out the calculator. Of the eight first-round groups, this is the only one where all four countries still have a chance of qualifying going into the last day.
Ghana know a win guarantees a second-round place but a draw may not be good enough. Likewise, the USA's only realistic hope is to beat Ghana and hope Italy beat the Czechs.
The mathematics leave USA coach Bruce Arena unmoved: "What do I do? Call in the goalscoring machine? It's not my business to deal with that game (calculations). All we ever wanted was to have a chance in game three."
Arena's opposite number, Serb Ratomir Dujkovic, has responded by talking a good match, saying he still believes his side can not alone beat the USA but go all the way to the semi-finals. That may be an overly optimistic forecast but what is sure is the last remnants of African pride ride on Ghanaian shoulders.
Given both sides have looked robust and physical so far, this could be another bruising encounter. Ghana, the youngest team in Germany, might hope to take advantage of any residual physical exhaustion in the USA squad in the wake of their heroics in that 1-1 draw with Italy in Kaiserslautern.
Arena and Dujkovic are without key players. Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan and midfield team-mate Sully Muntari are suspended, as are USA defender Eddie Pope and midfielder Pablo Mastroeni. Either Derek Boateng of Swedish club AIK and or PSV Eindhoven's Eric Addo will replace Muntari while Razak Pimpong of Danish club Kebenhaven may come in for Gyan. For the USA, Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra may switch to left back with Greg Berhalter or Jimmy Conrad coming in for Pope in central defence.
Ghana captain Stephen Appiah who, with Chelsea's Michael Essien, form the backbone of a relatively inexperienced team, is in a positive mood, playing down the impact of the suspensions: "We want to show the world who we are, we're going to miss them (suspended players) but our roster is 23 strong and all the guys are ready to die for the nation."
Fighting words, USA beware.
