Good evening and welcome to live text coverage of the Group G encounter between the USA and Ghana at the Estadio das Dunas in Natal where it is humid with winds.

World Cup / Group Stage

Arena das Dunas / 16.06.2014

Ghana

Completed

USA

A. Ayew(82')

C. Dempsey(1')
J. Brooks(86')

Live

Live Updates

ByThe Editorial Team

Updated 16/06/2014 at 23:57 GMT

23'

Warm applause for the Sunderland man. That's rotten luck.

22'

Play has been stopped and it looks like Altidore will leave on a stretcher. USA preparing a sub.

21'

Altidore chases a ball down the line and pulls up clutching his hamstring. It could be curtains for his World Cup.

20'

Ghana are having some joy down the right. Gyan races into the channel once again but his back heel fools everyone.

19'

USA CHANCE! A good move down the right sees the ball fall to Altidore who crashes his shot into a defender when he looked certain to score.

18'

This is the third straight match in WC's the USA have faced an African side (Ghana 2006 and 2010, Algeria 2010).

17'

Ghana starting to turn the screw. Daniel Opare swings a sublime cross in from the right but it's just a bit too high for Gyan.

16'

STAT: No player scored more goals than Ghana's Asamoah Gyan in the 2014 African World Cup qualifiers (six). He has also scored four and assisted two of Ghana's nine World Cup goals in total, and netted the winner against USA in 2010.

15'

Superb goalkeeping by Howard who dashes off his line to thwart Gyan after a slide-rule pass from Christian Atsu parted the USA defence.

14'

PHOTO: Dempsey celebrates the opener.

Image credit: Getty Images

13'

Love it.

12'

Ghana settling down in the midfield now. It's been such a frantic pace so far, they've not had time to take a touch. If they stay patient they should come back into it more. The USA surely can't keep us this pace... Can they?

11'

PHOTO: Joy for the Everton stopper.

10'

I knew someone would come up with the fastest!

STAT: The USA have only kept two clean sheets in their last 23 World Cup matches.

Gyan finds space down the right and teases a cross towards the danger zone but Howard is off his line and gathers. This is already end-to-end. Nigeria v Iran the only blip on a scintillating WC so far.

Here come the USA again and Altidore flicks a header off target from a right-wing cross.

Muntari dinks it into the area but John Boye can't make anything of it and plants his header well wide. There was too much on that delivery.

Ghana have a free kick. Muntari over it. It's 50 yards out. A chance to have a breather and look to create.

And where does it rank in terms of the WC's fastest strikes?

Dempsey, a man bang in form.

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