DON’T mention the phoney war. With political correctness a theme of this World Cup, the United States have not endeared themselves to many with their talk of war and warriors. In the end, their main achievement has been in exposing the facile nature of the Fifa rankings that claim they are the fifth-best team on the planet and it is Ghana who proved that actions speak far louder than ill-chosen words.

The wild celebrations in Nuremberg that greeted the Africa team’s merited triumph were tempered by Michael Essien’s misfortune. The Chelsea midfield player has been a talismanic linchpin for Ghana in their three matches, but his habit of tackling like a crash-test dummy worked against him. He was booked for a challenge on Claudio Reyna in the opening exchanges yesterday and will miss Ghana’s next game.

“We were talking this afternoon, before the game and we said we had to do something to show Brazil,” Stephen Appiah, the captain and his midfield sidekick, said. A yellow card was not what they had in mind. “It is one of the best moments and worst moments of my career,” Essien said. “It was a ridiculous decision.”

Essien was not the only one to suffer from finding Markus Merk, the German referee, in one of his more eccentric moods. The decisive penalty awarded against Oguchi Onyewu for an imaginary shove on Razak Pimpong, converted by Appiah near the end of the first half, was Andrex soft and, after the two red cards the US received against Italy, left Bruce Arena, their coach, feeling persecuted.

“To have to chase the game on that call was kind of remarkable,” he said. “That’s a big call because we had control of the game. There would be 15 penalty kicks a game if they gave them for that every time.”

Arena then claimed that his team were in the top half of the World Cup cast in terms of talent and that all 32 teams should be seeded to avoid another “group of death”. While giving his blueprint for the future, he also criticised the pressure he feels Fifa is putting on referees.

“Essien is out of the next game and that’s unfair, because his tackle was actually good,” he said. “This mandate to have to show yellow cards has gone overboard. I feel for Essien. He’s a great player and they need him.”

There were few tears from Essien, which showed a perspective some of the American camp have lacked. “I can imagine what is happening on the streets and in the restaurants at home,” Ratomir Dujkovic, the Ghana coach, said. “I am proud to have made 20 million Ghanaians happy. We are in the top 16 in the world.”

Dujkovic, who was under pressure after his team’s dismal display in the African Nations Cup, claimed that the US deserved to be in that elite band, too, but he was being kind. Despite never finding the free-flowing power play that did for the Czech Republic and getting that fortuitous penalty, Ghana were the better team and have better prospects of living with Brazil and Co.

To their credit, the US did find a head of steam in the second half, but they had been curiously subdued in the first. Needing a win to stay in Germany, they were ponderous and poor. Calling them the fifth best team in the world seemed akin to suggesting that Accrington Stanley are dark horses for the World Series.

Long before Merk’s intervention, Arena was shaking his head on the sidelines. He started doing so when Reyna was robbed deep in his own half by Haminu Dramani. Reyna stayed down, claiming a foul, and Dramani powered forward and curled a neat finish beyond Kasey Keller.

Reyna had been guilty of dawdling but did not deserve the strained ligaments that he also got for his apathy. Yet, although the Manchester City midfield player has been a key figure in the US’s rise over the past decade, he is not the man to lead a high tempo chase. His one speed is half pace and the US improved after his exit.

The US’s finishing had been low-grade, but they got an equaliser just before the break. The ball broke to DaMarcus Beasley on the left wing and for once the delivery was good, a rolled ball inviting Clint Dempsey to finish, which he did in bellicose style from ten yards.

The arrival of Eddie Johnson, the man who had unwisely declared that the US were here for war, lifted the crowd and his team began to live off more than scraps. Eddie Lewis darted down the wing and his low cross was nodded against a post by Brian McBride, while Onyewu put another header on to the roof of the net.

Perhaps it was knowing the score in the Italy-Czech Republic match that made Ghana take an unnatural backwards step. They also suffered from poor finishing. If the sign of a good striker is the conviction to keep looking for opportunities when you are peppering stewards with shots, then Matthew Amoah is one. If it is being a composed finisher, he is not.

Essien almost took his bow by scoring late on, only for his team-mate, Alex Tachie- Mensah, to deflect a goalbound effort behind. Ghana’s chances of upsetting more applecarts may have departed with Essien, but Dujkovic remains confident. “Any team that faces the Black Stars will have to suffer,” he said. Including Brazil? “Yes.”