After Ghana's defeat of the United States in the Round of 16, the Black Stars are anxiously awaiting their next match against Uruguay in the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on Friday.  Only two other African teams have progressed to the quarterfinals of the World Cup -- Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002 -- and if Ghana is able to beat Uruguay it will be the first African team to reach the semifinals. 

According to White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, US President, Barack Obama, and Ghana's President, John Atta Mills, will exchange soccer jerseys the next time they meet -- during an upcoming summit in Toronto, Canada.

Ghana is located a few degrees north of the Equator and the Greenwich Meridian passes through the country.  Ghana is close to being the "center of the world" -- the center (0°, 0°) is in the Gulf of Guinea, less than 400 miles south of the capital Accra.  Its flag consists of the colours red, gold, green and the black star -- red represents the blood that was shed in fighting for independence, gold represents the mineral wealth of Ghana, green symbolises the rich agriculture and the black star is the symbol of African emancipation.  It was known as the "Gold Coast" until 1957, when it achieved its independence from British colonial rule (the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from foreign rule). 

With a population of about 24 million people (and more than 100 different ethnic groups) Ghana has averted ethnic conflict and civil wars.  The official language is English, although most Ghanaians also speak at least one local language.