Ghana striker, Asamoah Gyan, has opened up on his infamous penalty miss at the 2010 FIFA World Cup that could have put Ghana into the semifinals of the World Cup.
Speaking to FIFA +, the former Sunderland and Udinese forward talked through the penalty kick in the final moments of the game.
Gyan stepped up to take the penalty after Dominic Adiyah’s goal bound header was deliberately blocked by Uruguay striker Luis Suarez with his hands.
However, the usually reliable Gyan struck the crossbar to set up a penalty shootout Ghana eventually lost and missed out on becoming the first African nation to make it to the semifinals of the World Cup.
Like many, Gyan was surprised to see his effort miss the net stating, “A day before the Uruguay game I shot 20 penalties against our goalkeeper at training, I scored all 20. He-the Uruguay goalkeeper-feinted me and then went to where the ball was going. I didn’t know how the ball went up…I didn’t have the right technique.” (Click highlighted text to watch interview)
Gyan is yet to officially announce his retirement as a professional footballer despite not playing active football in over a year.
Ghana will compete at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and has been drawn in Group H with Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.