Former Ghana international Asamoah Gyan has spoken about the famous penalty miss that ended the Black Stars dream run at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Ghana were close to reaching the semi-finals in only their second World Cup appearance, but their hopes ended after a dramatic quarter-final defeat to Uruguay.
Sulley Muntari had put Ghana ahead with a powerful long-range strike before Diego Forlán equalised for Uruguay.
In the final moments of extra time, Ghana were given a great chance to win the match. A header from Dominic Adiyah was deliberately blocked on the goal line by Luis Suárez, which led to a penalty.
Gyan, who is Ghana’s all-time top scorer, stepped up to take the kick but his shot hit the crossbar. The game later went to penalties, where Uruguay won 4–2.
Speaking to former England defender Rio Ferdinand, Gyan explained the mental struggle he faced before taking the penalty.
"A day before the game, after training, we practised penalty shootouts, and I scored 20 penalties out of 20, and it occurred to me that what if we get a penalty tomorrow? Then I said, I am going to kick it.
"So when we were awarded the penalty, at the back of my mind, I was hearing voices saying don't shoot, but I was the penalty taker in the team, and so I had to step up, and I said this is me, but I shot it, and I missed it, and at that moment, I was crazy," he added.
Gyan admitted the moment remains one of the most painful in his career.
"At the moment, I let Africa down, and it is also the worst moment in my career, and I would have ended my career at that time."
By: Pascal Amoah
