I was hearing voice not to shoot – Former Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan opens up on heartbreaking penalty miss against Uruguay

Former Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has reflected on his infamous penalty miss against Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a moment that dashed Ghana’s hopes of reaching the semifinals in South Africa.

After a promising start to their second World Cup appearance, Ghana fell to a 4-2 defeat on penalties to Uruguay.

Sulley Muntari had earlier put the Black Stars ahead with a stunning long-range strike, only for Diego Forlán to equalize for the South Americans.

In the dying moments of regulation time, Dominic Adiyah’s goal-bound header was controversially blocked by Luis Suárez with his hand, earning Uruguay a red card and Ghana a penalty.

Gyan, the country’s all-time top scorer, stepped up to take the spot-kick, only for the ball to crash against the crossbar. Ghana eventually lost in the penalty shootout, ending their World Cup run.

Speaking to former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand, Gyan recalled the pressure: “A day before the game, after training, we practised penalty shootouts, and I scored 20 penalties out of 20, and it occurred to me that what if we get a penalty tomorrow? Then I said, I am going to kick it.

“So when we were awarded the penalty, at the back of my mind, I was hearing voices saying don’t shoot, but I was the penalty taker in the team, and so I had to step up, and I said this is me, but I shot it, and I missed it, and at that moment, I was crazy,” he added. 

Gyan admitted the miss weighed heavily on him: “At the moment, I let Africa down, and it is also the worst moment in my career, and I would have ended my career at that time.”

Even years later, the 2010 quarterfinal remains one of the most talked-about moments in World Cup history, and a defining point in Gyan’s storied career.