Uruguay, proud owner of two World Cup titles, will be favored against South Korea when the teams open second-round play in Port Elizabeth. Diego Forlán leads the South Americans’ plundering forward line, but their defense, including goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, did not allow a goal in group play and has been even more impressive.
South Korea’s coach, Huh Jung-moo, has a quandary at right back — he has wavered between Cha Du-ri, a converted forward whose laxity gave Nigeria a soft goal earlier this week, and Oh Beom-seok, owner of the dubious nickname King of Fouls.
United States vs. Ghana
Round of 16
2:30 p.m. Eastern
TV: ABC, Univision
Landon Donovan, with a string of gutsy performances, has obliterated the niggling notion that he wilts in big games. That perception grew in 2006, when Donovan and the United States were unceremoniously bounced from the World Cup in Germany after a 2-1 loss to Ghana in their final game. The Americans, stronger, wiser and more resilient, get another crack at the Black Stars, in Rustenburg. Ghana is the lone African nation, out of six, to advance to the knockout stage. Its two goals were both scored from the penalty spot.
