Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterThe chaotic 2010 quarter-final between Uruguay and Ghana was a World Cup classic. The Black Stars were the final African side left in the tournament and drew a crowd of more than 84,000 in Johannesburgs Soccer City, who saw Sully Muntari and Diego Forlan trade goals before the tie headed into extra time.Ghana looked set to become the first African side to reach the final four of a World Cup when Luis Suarez saved the ball on the line with his hand, resulting in a penalty and red card in the final minutes of extra time.This desperate gamble would pay off though, as Asamoah Gyan blasted the penalty onto the bar and the South Americans win the resulting shootout, in a match which the former Sunderland and Udinese star has never forgotten. You may like It was a blessing to play with Suarez and Cavani for Uruguay. They helped raise the level of a generation that made history at the 2010 World Cup Diego Forlan recalls his role in La Celestes legendary attacking trident Harry Kane will be spurred on by his penalty miss in Qatar. Hes almost unshakeable in his mentality Stuart Peace and Chris Waddle on what it takes to come back from spot-kick misery If we played that game 10 times, wed win it nine Olivier Giroud recalls the most painful defeat of his entire career, and why it made him the player he became Asamoah Gyan on Ghanas heartbreaking World Cup 2010 exitFourFourTwo's essential 2026 World Cup pack!Get your hands on the newest issue of FourFourTwo - our ultimate World Cup pack! Featuring: Englands American dream, Jordan Pickford and Morgan Rogers, Scotlands return, Mauricio Pochettino Q&A, biggest upsets plus a huge wallchart and preview special!View DealThe team were in top shape for that quarter-final in Johannesburg, and our confidence was very, very high, Gyan tells FourFourTwo as he reflects on that game plus the impact it had on both his career and the Black Stars. It was a tough game Sulley Muntari scored for us from 35 yards just before half-time, but Uruguay came back and equalised through Diego Forlan. We dominated the game, but it went to extra time.Then, with no time remaining on the clock after 120 minutes, John Paintsil put a free-kick into the box. There was a scramble, Luis Suarez cleared one shot with his feet, then he stuck his hand out and slapped Dominic Adiyiahs header away before it crossed the goal-line. If I had been Suarez, I would have done the same thing to save my country. The ball was going in, and he handled it to keep his team in the game.He was sent off, then I stepped up for the penalty, in the final seconds of the match. It would have been very fair for us to win that game, but unfortunately I didnt convert my penalty hit the crossbar. For a while, that became the most famous penalty in the world one that everybody was talking about.But its part of the game. Life goes on. Soon, I had to take another one I was Ghanas first player to take a penalty in the shootout, and I scored. I remember when I joined Sunderland from Rennes two months later, for a club-record fee of �13 million, the manager Steve Bruce said, You have balls missing a crucial penalty, then coming back to score the first one in the shootout, thats the main reason why I signed you.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Even though I lost something that night sadly, we lost that penalty shootout I also achieved something. It made me stronger, and it opened doors for me. We didnt become the first African side to reach the World Cup semi-finals instead, Morocco were the ones who finally broke that ceiling in 2022 but we were very proud of ourselves for what we did in South Africa.Ghana had an amazing World Cup, and personally I still had an amazing tournament. It was one of the most historic World Cups weve ever been to, and everybody still talks about it. We created a legacy.Luis Suarez became a hero in Uruguay because he saved his team. Sometimes, people who dont understand Suarez hate him for what he did, but looking back now, I dont blame him for it. He just did what he had to do to save his country from being knocked out.For a while, I was naive, I was thinking about what people were saying about me after my penalty miss, so I hated him for a bit, too. But Im more mature now. Later, I sat down and understood he did the right thing for his country. Hes a great player whos had a great career, and has achieved a lot of different things in football.Psychologically though, my penalty miss does still pain me. Sometimes, when Im alone and I look back, I feel that I let Africa down, that I let my country down. After that quarter-final, people were disappointed and pained about my miss.Sometimes though, people will still abuse me on social media whenever I post a tweet, or a story on Instagram, Ill see thousands of people praising me, and a couple of people who bring up that penalty miss against Uruguay. I still feel like people havent forgotten about it, so I just have to deal with it. Maybe Im going to have to live with that for the rest of my life.TOPICSAsamoah GyanLuis SuarezGhanaUruguayWorld Cup 2010Joe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromZach Lowy
