updated 5:08 p.m. ET June 22, 2006

NUREMBERG, Germany - The achievements of African teams at previous World Cup tournaments inspired Ghana captain Stephen Appiah.

Now, it might be Ghana that’s doing the inspiring.

The Black Stars advanced to the second round in its first World Cup appearance, beating the United States 2-1 Thursday. It also defeated the Czech Republic after an opening loss to Italy in Group E.

Ghana, one of four African teams making its debut at the World Cup, is the only one still alive. And the 48th-ranked country knocked off FIFA’s No. 2 and No. 5 ranked teams.

“We are playing for Africa and our country,” Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan said. “It’s an honor for us. We’ve made it to the World Cup for the first time and we’ve proved we can make it.”

Not that Ghana has a weak history in the sport.

Ghana is a four-time African Cup of Nations champion, but it left after the first round of this year’s tournament in Egypt. The under-17 team has also been a success, winning the youth title twice.

Zidane, Materazzi banned, fined for incident Borges: Zidane lucky he doesn't play in U.S. Opinion: U.S. has 2 coaching options | Vote Arena out after 8 years as U.S. coach Best XI: top players, your picks for World Cup   Slide shows: Hairdos |   Damsels |   Beckham   Images: Highlights, more |   MORE COVERAGE

Some of those young players, like captain Stephen Appiah, are now on the men’s team, and they proved they’re worthy by becoming only the second team to lose its opening match and advance to the second round since the World Cup expanded to 32 teams.

“All the other (new) African teams are out of the World Cup,” Appiah said.

Angola, Togo and Ivory Coast have been eliminated. Tunisia, which plays Ukraine on Friday, still has a chance to advance.

At the last World Cup, Senegal reached the quarterfinals, becoming only the second African team to play in the final eight. Cameroon was the first, going that far in 1990.

But next up is Brazil, which won Group F and will face Ghana in Dortmund on Tuesday.

Appiah scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in first-half injury time. When the match ended, the players raced over to their African supporters, who had kept up their drumbeating, dancing and chanting throughout the match at the 45,000-seat Nuremberg Stadium.

Slide show Diehard damsels In a sport dominated by males, plenty of women are showing their undying support for their teams at the World Cup. more photos

Midfielder Michael Essien tore off his shirt and jumped up toward the fans. John Pantsil and John Mensah knelt in prayer after the final whistle.

Fans from other African countries mingled in the crowd, and Tunisia supporter Ali El-Sebaeh, in traditional Arab dress, also greeted Essien at the front of the Ghana crowd.

Haminu Draman got the first goal in the 22nd minute, but Clint Dempsey equalized for the Americans in the 43rd after Derek Boateng gave the ball away and DaMarcus Beasley crossed into the area.

“It’s a historic moment. We are very happy,” Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic said. “It was a really, really nervous match because of the importance for both teams ... but we’ve done it and we are satisfied.”

In the other group match, Italy defeated the Czechs 2-0.

Ghana is ranked ahead of only Angola and Togo in the tournament. The other three teams in Group E are all ranked in the top 13.

Slide show   Coiffing for the Cup Soccer fans express their love for their national teams in wildly creative ways with their hair

The Ghanaian players got a boost before the match against the Americans in a visit from Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o. The FC Barcelona striker, whose country did not qualify this time, spoke to the team before the match, while Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo called Appiah to express support.

Essien is Ghana’s biggest star and will be sidelined for the second round because of two yellow cards.

“Essien is one of the guarantee players in the team. We are going to miss him and I’m very sad he’s going to miss the game against Brazil,” Appiah said.

But Dujkovic said he was not worried.

“We have guys to replace him,” the Serbian coach said. “Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan will be back and they are great players.”

The American players gave Ghana credit for their achievement.

“Ghana took care of what they had to take care of,” Brian McBride said.

Added Jimmy Conrad: “Ghana’s a good team and had a lot to play for, as we did. They capitalized on two opportunities. We capitalized on one.”

MORE FROM SOCCER

Soccer Section Front

Real pulls off MLS Cup upset against Galaxy   Beckham promises to return to MLS, buy franchise Major League Soccer Cup Winners MLS would like Montreal to become 19th team Defoe scores 5 in Tottenham's 9-1 win over Wigan Irish give up on Cup replay over hand ball   Vote: Should France forfeit its win over Ireland? Soccer hair-pulling fuels debate over sexism NYT: ‘I have so much regret,’ N.M. soccer player says 2010 World Cup qualifiers   Soccer Section Front   Add Soccer headlines to your news reader: