Ghana, the last of the African teams in the World Cup of soccer was given a harsh exit this afternoon as they lost to Uruguay 4-2 in penalty kicks.At the end of regulation time the score was tied 1-1 between the two teams as Ghana was fighting their way to grab that last semi-final spot. In the dying moments of extra time a mad scramble in Uruguay’s goal box broke out appearing as though this was the end for Uruguay. A Ghana header was launched straight for the back of the net when Uruguay forward Luis Suarez stuck out his hand deliberately, in order to stop the ball from effectively ending their run.
Ghana striker Gyan missed the penalty shot as the ball struck the crossbar straight in the middle sending it high in the air and away from the net. From here it was entirely downhill for Ghana as in penalty kicks they seemed to be no match shooting the ball directly at the Uruguayan goalie on two shots.
Uruguay on the other hand had a great couple of kicks, connecting on 4 of 5. In a swift second the hearts of almost an entire continent dropped as Ghana lost the game ending their amazing journey. Had Suarez not stopped committed a hand ball at the end of the game, the outcome would most likely have gone in Ghana’s favour.
“At the end we had a historic opportunity. It would have been a fairytale. We didn’t deserve to lose in this way,” Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac said, as he wept during his post game interview.
Tomorrow the games continue as Argentina faces Germany at 11 am.
Our pick for the game, Argentina 2-1
Published: Jul 2, 2010 08:00 pm