PATCHED UP with suspension, Ghana?s Black Stars seek their second round berth of the World Cup finals, in Nuremberg, Germany, in a tough Group E fixture, this afternoon, writes Isaac Franklin.

Ghana, the tournament?s surprise package goes into today?s match without Asamoah Mensah Gyan and Sulley Ali Muntari, as its Black Stars clash with the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America.

Despite missing the services of their two key players, the Black Stars take on their American counterparts with careful buoyancy, since a slip would send the Ghanaians packing.

Ghana?s Stars have in mind the crucial moment in which they are, and are set to sparkle over the US? Stars and Stripes, on the battle-field today. Ghana remains Africa?s star of hope at the World Cup finals, in the aftermath of the poor shows by Cote d?Ivoire, Togo, Tunisia, and Angola, as victory over the US would keep Africa?s World Cup hopes alive.

Ghana, which bounced back from an opening 2-0 defeat by Italy to defeat Czech Republic, by the same score, has the interesting likelihood of encountering the five-time champion, Brazil, in the last 16.

Ahead of the US-Ghana thriller, the main task of Black Stars? head coach, Ratomir Dujkovic, is to banish dreams of a possible second-round clash with Brazil.

Instead, he wants the Ghanaian side to concentrate on an all-out battle between two strong and attacking sides which retain a chance of advancing to the knock-out stage.

An upbeat Dujkovic has pointed out: ?This is the pinnacle of my career. I believe Ghana can go all the way to the semi-finals, though of course, that depends on the game against the United States, which is crucial.?

The group is wide open, with all four teams having a chance to progress. Ghana, on three points, and United States, with one, needs a win to overhaul Italy and Czech, who are first and second in the group, with four and three points, respectively.

The Ghanaians have a powerful team whose surging, adventurous soccer has captivated German spectators.

But the Americans showed in their rugged 1-1 draw with Italy, when three men were sent off, that they have immense heart and determination.

US? coach, Bruce Arena, has, in the meantime, hinted he would tell his players to go all-out for a win, and ignore news from the Italy-Czech Republic match in Hamburg.

?What do I do?? quizzed Arena. ?Call in the goal-scoring machine? It?s not my business to deal with that game.

All we ever wanted was to have a chance in Match Three.?

The US? Stars and Stripes are poised to make sure they record a victory over their Ghanaian counterparts.

Prime target of the US would be Ghana?s midfield power-house, Michael Essien, whom the Americans are seriously looking for his antidote, to neutralise him, so as to overcome Ghana.

Two goals could be enough to put the US team through, though it will be depending on Italy?s Azzurri to defeat the Locomotive of Czech Republic. However, if the Italians and Czechs draw, the US will have to run up the score on Ghana.

But that US feat seems unlikely, unless the Ghanaians completely collapsed. The US will be missing Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope against Ghana.

But John O?Brien can replace Mastroeni and Jimmy Conrad appears ready to step into central defence.

US players have not scored more than twice in a World Cup match since 1930. In 2002, Brian McBride and O?Brien, plus an own goal, accounted for the US? 3-2 win over Portugal.

And, in this World Cup, the US has officially taken one shot at goal, after two matches.

That the US remains in contention, though, is a positive sign. The American team is yet to create consistent threats, but has been resilient enough to get this far.

If the Stars and Stripes can break through to score once, momentum could build in today?s cracker, since there is a first-time for almost everything. Cristian Zaccardo is a prime example, and not only did he score an own goal for the Stars and Stripes, he did so by swinging his leg away from his own net. Intriguingly, own goals have proved to be good signs for the Stars and Stripes. In 1994, Colombia?s Andres Escobar slid into a centering pass and scored an own goal that ultimately cost him his life, when he was killed in Colombia by gunmen, for scoring an own goal in the 2-1 US? victory.

In 2002, Portugal helped the cause, and the US moved on to the second round on goal difference.

On Saturday, Zaccardo took the own goal a step further with a comical boot, signalling the start of an untying process by the Italians that only continued with the addition of Gennaro Gattuso, via substitution, and the departure of Daniele De Rossi and Francesco Totti, via red cards.

Though Ghana is finally fulfilling its potential, there are questions about the team?s resilience.

After finally qualifying for the World Cup, Ghana has given two good performances in its opener against a high-flying Italian team, Azzurri, in a 2-0 loss, and dominated the Czech Republic?s Locomotive, in a 2-0 victory. If Ghana follows Group E form, it is due for a let-down.

Although every nation in the World Cup tournament is bound to experience down times, the competent, composed, experienced countries have been able to overcome adversity, or at least, weathered the storm, before it passed.

The Stars and Stripes have had their troubles, and, so far, they have been able to survive and even created momentum.

This is because of the eternal optimism, combined with an almost naive approach to circumstance, which characterises the American player, and possibly, the Australian player.

If there is an US-Aussie duel in the second round, it could surpass the intensity of the US-Italy duel at Kaiserslautern, in Germany.

The first-round is the warm-up act for the true World Cup competition. And it has been an excellent one, so far, in terms of entertainment and organisation, but the World Cup tournament does not seriously start, until the elimination stage.

And elimination is at stake in the final matches in Group E, where the keys now are concentration and perseverance.

Time and again, the battle-hardened countries thrive in these situations, while others are vulnerable to distraction and potential self-destruction. Significantly, the two teams, which would fail to advance from Group E will not really be able to complain.

The Czechs were dismal against Ghana, and will be missing five key players against Italy.

The Americans were mediocre against the Czechs, and had two players red-carded against the Italians.

Italy failed to produce with a man-advantage against the US, while Ghana also lost its opener, which dooms teams to failure, 80 per cent of the time, in the World Cup championship.

Ghana?s probable line-up: (4-4-2): 22-Richard Kingston; 15-John Paintsil, 13-Habib Mohammed, 5-John Mensah, 7-Shilla Illiasu; 9-Derek Boateng, 8-Michael Essien, 10-Stephen Appiah, 20-Otto Addo; 14-Matthew Amoah, 19-Razak Pimpong.

United States? line-up: (4-4-2): 18-Kasey Keller; 3-Carlos Bocanegra, 22-Oguchi Onyewu, 13-Jimmy Conrad, 6-Steve Cherundolo; 17-DaMarcus Beasley, 10-Claudio Reyna, 21-Landon Donovan, 8-Clint Dempsey; 20-Brian McBride, 9-Eddie Johnson. Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)