Former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan believes the timing of his missed penalty in the World Cup quarterfinals in 2010 pains him the most.
According to the experienced attacker, he was deeply hurt by his failure to put the game to bed when he had the opportunity against Uruguay.
“It’s either you miss or you score. Emotionally, what hit me is the time I missed the penalty,” Gyan stated to Pure FM.
“If I had scored, that was the end of the game. That is what hurts me. But in terms of the miss itself, it is normal.”
Ghana was on the verge of becoming the first African nation to reach the World Cup quarterfinals before losing on penalties to Uruguay after a 1-1 deadlock in regulation and extra time.
The fact that Ghana had a penalty in the last seconds of extra time after Luis Suarez used his hand to push away Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-bound header made the defeat much more heartbreaking.
Despite the fact that Suarez was sent off for his unsporting behavior and Ghana was awarded a penalty, Gyan missed from the spot, and Uruguay went on to win the shootout 4-2.
Athletic Bilbao striker Inaki Williams recently admitted that he was a big fan of the Black Stars and was disappointed when they fell to Uruguay in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
“When Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty against Uruguay I was very sad because I lived that World Cup a lot, very involved with Ghana,” Williams told Marca.
Ghana and Uruguay will meet again in the 2022 World Cup after being assigned to Group H alongside Portugal and South Korea.
