If you expected something other than this to happen you probably think Shaggy, Scooby and the gang are going to discover a real ghost instead of some guy in a mask.

Five Cuban soccer players went missing Tuesday night after the under-23 team played a key match against the United States, a team official said Wednesday.

[...]

The five men, including a goalie and team captain who helped Cuba tie the United States 1-1 Tuesday, are expected to be in Miami by this weekend, said Marcos Ommati, a spokesman with professional soccer team Miami FC.

He said he had not spoken with the players and did not know their whereabouts, but said he had spoken with someone who told him to expect the players.

Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard summed it up this way:

If Cuba is the paradise our leftists like to declare it, why does this sort of thing keep happening?

The US Soccer Team will begin their match with Ghana in about 15 minutes. To advance to the next round there is only one scenario that really matters — they must win. If that one thing doesn’t occur, the rest of the possibilities involving Italy and the Czech Republic just don’t matter.

I know soccer just doesn’t matter to most of the American sports world. My ties go back to playing in high school (at a time when Pele was still playing!) and it was the first sport that I officiated.

Updates through this mornings matches.

Ghana scores first in the 22nd minute to go up 1-0 (ITA-CZE still tied at 0)

Italy Scores!

SCORE! A beautiful goal by Dempsey!! Tied at 1-1

Ghana scores on a very questionable penalty kick and takes back the lead 2-1

Both games are now at the half. As I was typing the last update I heard that the Czech Republic has had a man sent off. Still, it all comes down to the USA comming back and winning this contest.

Italy did their part to win, but unless the US can score twice in stopage time it’s over.

And it’s over. The US has been eliminated from World Cup play.

The US team looks much more aggressive and focused in today’s game. Although Italy scored first, USA scored off a ball misdirected by an Italian defense-man to go into the half tied at one.

With Italy down a player from a red card, it wasn’t long before the United States found itself down two players. In spite of the man disadvantage the US team did manage to hold on to the 1-1 tie to come out of this second match with one point.

Next up will be Ghana on Thursday.