YANKS FOR NOTHING U.S. OUSTED BY GHANA WORLD CUP GROUP E: GHANA 2, UNITED STATES 1.

Byline: SCOTT FRENCH Staff Writer

NUREMBERG, Germany -- Landon Donovan was off his game, Claudio Reyna was off the field and German referee Markus Merk was off the mark. It was more than the U.S. could overcome, and after Thursday's all-important showdown with Ghana, the Americans were off for home.

The U.S. hopes for a World Cup, and possibly a golden era in American soccer, came to an end at Frankenstadion, where Ghana made history with a 2-1 victory in a Group E finale, advancing to the second round at the expense of the U.S. It was the final game, it appears, for Reyna, possibly for forward Brian McBride, we'll see about goalkeeper Kasey Keller, and, just maybe, Bruce Arena.

The U.S. coach, flummoxed by Merk's penalty-kick decision at the close of the first half to give the Ghanaians advantage, intimated that he was finished after eight years and twoWorld Cups, the most successful and respected coach in team history.

The Americans again struggled to finish, and at times create, especially in the second half when Ghana, holding a lead that would give them oneof 16 berths in the tournament's knockout phase, packed its defense, providing little space for the U.S. to exploit and using its quickness to cut off angles and disrupt passing lanes.

The game changed on the penalty kick, nearly two minutes into first-half stoppage time, an atrocious call that sapped the life out of the Americans and bolstered the Ghanaians when they most needed the strength. Merk, considered Germany's finest referee, has had a dismal tournament, and the low point arrived when he decided Oguchi Onyewu had fouled Razak Pimpong as they battled for an air ball at the top of the U.S. box.

Onyewu won the duel, at least until Merk got involved.

``We worked real hard to get back into the game,'' Arena said, ``and I'm real disappointed in the judgment of the referee for that penalty-kick call. It put our team behind for the half, and we had to chase the game for the second half. I would have liked to come out of halftime even and have the chance to really make it a game. ... That call was big. (Ghana) could sit back and pick their spots to counter. They did that and kept us off the scoreboard.''

The Americans, who needed a victory and -- best-case scenario -- an Italy win over the Czech Republic to reach the second round for the third time in four World Cups, had momentum, and the news from Hamburg was good: Italy was ahead and the Czechs had lost a player to a red card.

Then Merk messed up, Ghana went ahead on Stephen Appiah's penalty kick, and the Americans spent the second half struggling to find a path to the net. McBride came closest, hitting the left post with a header from an Eddie Lewis cross.

Reyna, 32, a veteran of four World Cups, said afterward he was done with international soccer, and McBride, 34, acknowledged his third World Cup would be his last. Keller, 36, also in his fourth Cup, wasn't talking, but Arena earlier this year said Tim Howard had to be considered the No. 1 goalkeeper for 2010, when the World Cup will be played in South Africa.

But that might not be Arena's decision to make. His eight-year tenure has seen the U.S. rise to unprecedented successes, and although this World Cup was a disappointment -- the U.S. finished 0-2-1, last in Group E -- the Americans' opposition was phenomenal.

U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said federation officials would ``sit down and analyze the situation . . . talk internally and talk with Bruce,'' but Arena, thought to desire a coaching position in Europe, indicated he likely wouldn't be back.

``I don't know how I feel about the whole thing,'' he said. ``I have other opportunities I need to explore as well.''

[e-mail]

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The United States' Landon Donovan stands dejected after the Americans were eliminated from the World Cup with a 2-1 loss to Ghana on Thursday in Nuremberg, Germany.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

(2 -- color) American goalkeeper Kasey Keller, left, looks back as a shot by Haminu Draman goes to the back of the net for Ghana's first goal.

Timothy A. Clary/Associated Press