‘It still haunts me’ — Ghanaian legend Asamoah Gyan relives World Cup penalty miss against Uruguay

Ghanaian legend Asamoah Gyan recalls infamous penalty miss against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

Former Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan has relived the horrid experience of missing a crucial penalty that led to the Black Stars getting knocked out at the quarterfinal stage of the 2010 World Cup against Uruguay. 

Gyan’s infamous penalty against Uruguay at the World Cup

Gyan, who is Africa’s top scorer in World Cup history after scoring six goals in 11 appearances across three tournaments, had a stellar career for the Black Stars of Ghana, but his successes have been unable to wipe away the memory of costing his side a place in history in 2010. 

The former Sunderland striker was given the opportunity to make Ghana the first African side to reach the semifinal of a World Cup tournament in the South Africa 2010 edition following a last-minute handball by Uruguay’s Luis Suarez in the penalty area, but hit the crossbar with the resulting spot kick. 

Ghana eventually lost in the ensuing penalty shootout, missing out on a place in the semifinal when the spot was within their grasp, and it would take another 12 years before Africa finally got a place in the World Cup semifinals through Morocco in 2022. 

Gyan recalls Uruguay penalty miss

The Black Stars legend remembered the incident, as quoted by Eurofoot, saying, "Till today, any time alone, it still haunts me… sometimes I feel like the world should go back again so I can redeem myself." 

"But I know this is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I accept that because there is nothing I can do about it." 

"I went there to save my country, but I ended up being the villain, which I accept because I know how people feel."

Gyan recalled the agony of missing the penalty, and the aftermath, saying. "It was a disaster. It was crazy. I couldn't sleep the whole night because I was crying the whole night until morning so I was somehow calm because I couldn't cry anymore." 

"All I was telling myself was to get another chance because I knew I could redeem myself even if not football, something else. But even if I don't, my kids will do it one day."

Despite the miss, Gyan still holds a lofty position amongst the greats of African football and is still Ghana’s highest goal scorer of all time, in addition to scoring the most goals by an African player at the World Cup. 

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