Ghana will get a chance to avenge a heart-breaking knockout they suffered at the hands of Uruguay during the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.
Many soccer followers will remember how Ghana were denied victory by Uruguay’s dirty tricks deep in extra-time at the FNB Stadium. The Black Stars face Uruguay on Friday at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In 2010, after Bafana Bafana were bundled out of the tournament, South Africans adopted Ghana and gave them the moniker BaGhana BaGhana.
On that cold night in Johannesburg, Luis Suarez blocked Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-bound header on the line using his hand – the goal was disallowed and Ghana was awarded a penalty that Asamoah Gyan missed. The match went into a penalty shootout and Ghana were knocked out.
The FNB Stadium was sent into a state of mourning, the whole continent was shattered, and Uruguay were through to the semi-finals. It was like watching a bunch of bad guys running off into the sunset, giggling and laughing with their loot.
Ghana now have the perfect opportunity to give their opponents a taste of their own bitter medicine. In their opening match in Qatar, Ghana were defeated 3-2 by Portugal and on Monday they played a game of their lives when they triumphed 3-2 against Korea Republic.
The Black Stars of Ghana are sitting in second position in Group H with three points while the South Americans are anchoring the bottom with a single point. Ghana’s loss could result in Uruguay sneaking past them on the table standing, and Suarez and his troops are more than capable of achieving that feat.
Ghana scored three goals for the first time in a Fifa World Cup match that will go down as one of the most breathtaking contests of the group stage – a game of fluctuating fortunes, goals and near misses.
Fifa.com mentions that it helps Ghana that, in matchwinner Mohammed Kudus, they have a goalscorer with his eye in. The attacking midfielder struck Ghana’s second against Portugal.
Against Korea Republic, he got goals number two and three. He first concluded a 31-pass move in which 10 players were involved.
In an interview with the Guardian before the tournament, Kudus repeated a quote about Neymar, which pointed to a player high on confidence: “He’s not better than me. He’s just a higher-profile player, that’s all.”
Kudus scored four times for Ajax Amsterdam in this season’s UEFA Champions League group stage. On Monday, he became the first Ghanaian to score twice in a World Cup match, ensuring another first – three goals from Ghana in a World Cup game for the first time.
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