Ghana strike, Celeste roll back years

With the Round of 16 underway, FIFA.com's latest statistical review focuses on a rare achievement for Uruguay and a historic landmark for Ghana.

minutes without a goal in open play came to an end for Ghana tonight when Kevin Prince Boateng scored in the fifth minute of their game with USA. Since Haminu Draman scored in the 22nd minute of their group game with USA at Germany 2006, their only goals in four FIFA World Cup™ games had come via the penalty spot.

minutes without conceding a FIFA World Cup goal ended for Uruguay when Lee Chung-Yong scored Korea Republic's equaliser in Port Elizabeth. Before that, the last goal they had let in was scored by Papa Bouba Diop for Senegal in the 38th minute of a group encounter at Suwon in 2002 which ended 3-3.

years is how far you have to look back for the last – and first – time USA were awarded a FIFA World Cup penalty prior to this evening. It came in the 1950 game against Chile, when Joe Maca converted in a 5-2 defeat.

minutes is when Benny Feilhaber comes into his own for the US. He has come off the bench at the start of the second half in each of the last three games.

years have passed since Uruguay last reached the quarter-finals. In 1970, they beat Soviet Union in Mexico City 1-0 with an extra-time winner before losing 3-1 to Brazil in the last four.

minutes had elapsed in Rustenburg when Maurice Edu came on for USA in place of Ricardo Clark. It was the earliest substitution by the US in the FIFA World Cup - beating the 36th-minute replacement of Jeff Agoos by DaMarcus Beasley in the Korea/Japan 2002 game against Poland.

matches had elapsed since Ghana last scored more than one goal. On 15 November 2009, their final 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier ended 2-2 with Mali and since then they had played five friendlies, five CAF Africa Cup of Nations matches and three FIFA World Cup games in which they scored either one or none.

teams have contested six matches at Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Rustenburg and only Mexico failed to register a goal there.

times Uruguay and Korea Republic have met and five times La Celeste have emerged as winners. In their group-stage meeting at Italy 1990, Daniel Fonseca scored a last-gasp goal to earn a 1-0 victory.

goals makes Landon Donovan the leading USA scorer in the FIFA World Cup, overtaking Bert Patenaude, who scored four in the space of five days at the first FIFA World Cup. Donovan has now scored in three successive FIFA World Cup matches.

African nations have reached the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals and, like Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002), Ghana did it by coming through a Round of 16 game with a 2-1 victory after extra time.

players, John Pantsil and Richard Kingson, have played in all eight of Ghana's games in the FIFA World Cup – four at Germany 2006 and four in South Africa.

was the number of FIFA World Cup matches involving either USA or Ghana that had gone to extra time before tonight's meeting.

source:http://www.fifa.com