THE GOAL? SCORING GOALS U.S. MUST WIN TO STAY ALIVE, AND GETTING BALL IN NET IS VITAL.

Byline: SCOTT FRENCH Staff Writer

NUREMBERG, Germany - The World Cup's tightest, toughest first-stage group comes to a conclusion this afternoon, and the United States' mission is simple.

The Americans, so impressive in one Group E clash, so awful in the other, must beat Ghana at Frankenstadion to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stage. To do so, they'll need to score goals.

It's been a problem so far, with the U.S. managing just one shot on goal -- Claudio Reyna's blast off the left post in the opener against the Czech Republic -- and scoring only when Italian defender Cristian Zaccardo turned the ball into his own net.

``It's not lost on any of us that we haven't scored a goal,'' said Landon Donovan, who has played as an attacking midfielder or withdrawn forward behind Brian McBride in the 3-0 loss to the Czechs and 1-1 tie with Italy. ``And it's likely that we're going to need to score to win the game (today), but the problems arise when you don't create chances. That's when you start to wonder, that's when it becomes an issue.

``We're getting the chances. (We've been) a little unlucky, a little not sharp in front of the goal. But that's the last thing I worry about.''

The Americans managed little attack against the Czechs, just Reyna's blast and a few forays late in the second half, after Eddie Johnson came off the bench, but they were all over the Italians and were unfortunate not to test Azzurri goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon more than they did.

``The team knows that now we have to score,'' Reyna said. ``That's obvious. But this team's done it before. We know we can break out and have a game where we score a few goals.''

Ghana's backline is susceptible, but the Black Stars are immensely fast, skillful, strong and athletic, and the Yanks must temper those qualities to stay in the game.

Midfielder Michael Essien might be the most dominant player the U.S. has faced in this tournament, and Czech midfielders Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky and forward Jan Koller and Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo have made strong impressions.

Essien, who usually lines up between the midfielders and backline, is an expert defender who playmakes from deep and surges forward into the attack to score goals.

Stopping him is crucial for the Americans, who need some help, preferably from Italy, in the other Group E finale.

Italy leads the group with four points, Ghana and the Czechs have three apiece, and the U.S. has one. An Italian triumph would send the victorious Americans to the round of 16, and a showdown Tuesday with Brazil in Dortmund. The Americans could advance if the Czechs win or if Italy and the Czechs tie, but they'd have to make up considerable goal differential, which isn't likely.

``Our focus has to be on winning the game,'' coach Bruce Arena said. ``We can't manufacture three, four or five goals. The starting point for us is to get three points (with a victory).''

The Italy-Czech Republic match will be played simultaneously at AOL Arena in Hamburg. Will the U.S. be keeping tabs?

``If it's 4-0 at half for Italy, I probably would want to know,'' Donovan said. ``Otherwise, don't tell me.''

Said Arena: ``I'm not real concerned with the score, especially in the first half. At halftime, we'll determine if we're still around this tourney or not, and then adjust accordingly.''

Group E is the only group that entered the final cycle of games with every team and no team yet qualified for the second round, and the possibility that the Americans might push through at the expense of the Czechs, who thoroughly dominated the June 12 meeting in Gelsenkirchen, is, well, incredible.

It seemed likely the U.S. would be eliminated in Saturday's game against three-time champion Italy in Kaiserslautern, but it survived red cards to defensive midfielder Pablo Mastroeni and defender Eddie Pope to forge a 1-1 draw that flattered the favored Azzurri. Ghana, beaten by the Italians in its opener, destroyed the Czechs in the other Group E game Saturday.

``The group has been turned upside down for all four teams,'' Reyna said Wednesday. ``We're all very evenly matched. We played well against Italy, but Ghana lost to them and played well against the Czechs. Every other team has gotten its win, and we feel that it's our turn.''

It will come down to goals.

``It takes the opportunity, it takes the right mindset, and sometimes it takes a bit of luck ...,'' U.S. forward Brian McBride said. ``We would always like to score more goals, and we're going to need them. We need to be smart, pick our chances to go forward. When the opportunity comes, we have to go for it.

``It takes the opportunity, the right mindset, sometimes a bit of luck and how you strike the ball.''

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