Ghana’s all time top scorer, Asamoah Gyan has suggested that he wish for a retake on the ‘crucial penalty’ he missed against Uruguay in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Fifa World Cup staged in South Africa.
The Black Stars who would have become the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a Fifa World Cup at the senior level in the event of a win against the South Americans with just a kick away from play became a ‘thing of the past’ against the crossbar.
However, Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-ward header was parried by Luis Suarez, who intentionally used his hands, led to a red card and a penalty for Ghana.
Gyan who scored 3 goals in the said tournament went ahead and scored during the spot kick despite squandering the all important kick, loss the eventual penalty shootouts 4-2 following an overall stalemate.
Reminiscing the miss barely ten years, the man who held the record of African player with most goals, six at the FIFA world cup said, he had wish for second chance to redeemed his image.
“I always go back and watch the penalty. I shake my head when I see it. I wish we could go back and have the penalty but life goes on. Many great players have missed penalty kicks but life goes on” he emotionally noted.
He nevertheless indicated that “It’s something that I would never forget.
Gyan is Ghana’s all-time most capped player and topscorer with 51 goals in 105 appearances. He is also the African player with most goals, six, at the Fifa World Cup.
samuel Sackey
