Ghana at the FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.

The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. [1][2]

This article is about the recent FIFA World Cup history of one of the leading nations in African football, Ghana.

FIFA World Cup record

Ghana have qualified for three FIFA World Cup tournaments; 2006, 2010, and 2014.

In 2006 they were the only African side to advance to the Second Round of 2006 FIFA World Cup and were the sixth nation in a row from Africa to progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup.[3] Ghana had the youngest team in the FIFA World Cup 2006 with an average age of 23 years and 352 days,[3] and were praised for their improving performance.[4][5] FIFA ranked Ghana 13th out of the 32 countries who competed in the tournament.[6]

In the 2010 World Cup, Ghana progressed beyond the group stages, and reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Uruguay. Ghana was defeated by Uruguay on penalties after Luis Suárez controversially handballed on the goal line deep into extra time, denying Ghana an almost certain winning goal.[7] Had Ghana won their quarter final, they would have become the first African nation to progress to the semi finals of the world cup. Of the 32 countries that participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, FIFA ranked Ghana 7th.[8]

In the 2014 World Cup, Ghana was eliminated during the group stages.

Ghana vs. Serbia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup group D match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria on 13 June 2010.
Ghana vs. Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match at Soccer City, Johannesburg on 2 July 2010.
FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1958 Did not enter
Chile 1962 Did not qualify
England 1966 Withdrew
1970 to 1978 Did not qualify
Spain 1982 Withdrew
1986 to 2002 Did not qualify
Germany 2006 Round of 16 13th 4 2 0 2 4 6
South Africa 2010 Quarter-Final 7th 5 2 2 1 5 4
Brazil 2014 Round 1 25th 3 0 1 2 4 6
Russia 2018 To Be Determined
Qatar 2022
Total 3/13 12 4 3 5 13 16

2006 FIFA World Cup

Head coach: Serbia Ratomir Dujković

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club
1 1GK Sammy Adjei (1980-09-01)1 September 1980 (aged 25) 31 Israel F.C. Ashdod
2 3MF Hans Sarpei (1976-06-28)28 June 1976 (aged 29) 7 Germany Wolfsburg
3 4FW Asamoah Gyan (1985-11-22)22 November 1985 (aged 20) 13 Italy Udinese[9]
4 2DF Samuel Kuffour (1976-09-03)3 September 1976 (aged 29) 58 Italy Roma
5 2DF John Mensah (1982-11-29)29 November 1982 (aged 23) 33 France Rennes
6 2DF Emmanuel Pappoe (1981-03-03)3 March 1981 (aged 25) 27 Israel Hapoel Kfar Saba
7 2DF Illiasu Shilla (1982-10-26)26 October 1982 (aged 23) 2 Ghana Asante Kotoko
8 3MF Michael Essien (1982-12-03)3 December 1982 (aged 23) 17 England Chelsea
9 3MF Derek Boateng (1983-05-02)2 May 1983 (aged 23) 11 Sweden AIK
10 3MF Stephen Appiah (c) (1980-12-24)24 December 1980 (aged 25) 42 Turkey Fenerbahçe
11 3MF Sulley Muntari (1984-08-27)27 August 1984 (aged 21) 16 Italy Udinese
12 4FW Alex Tachie-Mensah (1977-02-15)15 February 1977 (aged 29) 5 Switzerland St. Gallen
13 2DF Habib Mohamed (1983-12-10)10 December 1983 (aged 22) 1 Ghana King Faisal Babes
14 4FW Matthew Amoah (1980-10-24)24 October 1980 (aged 25) 16 Germany Borussia Dortmund
15 3MF John Paintsil (1981-06-15)15 June 1981 (aged 24) 21 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
16 1GK George Owu (1982-06-17)17 June 1982 (aged 23) 6 Ghana Ashanti Gold
17 2DF Daniel Quaye (1980-12-25)25 December 1980 (aged 25) 7 Ghana Hearts of Oak
18 2DF Eric Addo (1978-11-12)12 November 1978 (aged 27) 6 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven
19 4FW Razak Pimpong (1982-12-30)30 December 1982 (aged 23) 4 Denmark Copenhagen
20 4FW Otto Addo (1975-06-09)9 June 1975 (aged 31) 13 Germany Mainz 05
21 2DF Issah Ahmed (1982-05-24)24 May 1982 (aged 24) 10 Denmark Randers
22 1GK Richard Kingson (1978-06-13)13 June 1978 (aged 27) 33 Turkey Ankaraspor
23 3MF Haminu Dramani (1986-04-01)1 April 1986 (aged 20) 7 Serbia Red Star Belgrade[10]

Italy vs Ghana

12 June 2006
21:00
Italy  2–0  Ghana
Pirlo  40'
Iaquinta  83'
Report
Italy
Ghana
GK 1 Gianluigi Buffon
RB 2 Cristian Zaccardo
CB 13Alessandro Nesta
CB 5 Fabio Cannavaro (c)
LB 3 Fabio Grosso
DM 21Andrea Pirlo
RM 20Simone Perrotta
LM 4 Daniele De Rossi  10'
AM 10Francesco Totti  56'
CF 11Alberto Gilardino  64'
CF 9 Luca Toni  82'
Substitutions:
MF 16Mauro Camoranesi  62'  56'
FW 15Vincenzo Iaquinta  88'  64'
FW 7 Alessandro Del Piero  82'
Manager:
Marcello Lippi
GK 22Richard Kingson
RB 15John Paintsil
CB 4 Samuel Kuffour
CB 5 John Mensah
LB 6 Emmanuel Pappoe  46'
RM 18Eric Addo
CM 8 Michael Essien
CM 10Stephen Appiah (c)
LM 11Sulley Muntari  41'
CF 14Matthew Amoah  68'
CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  65'  89'
Substitutions:
DF 7 Illiasu Shilla  46'
FW 19Razak Pimpong  68'
FW 12Alex Tachie-Mensah  89'
Manager:
Serbia Ratomir Dujković
Wikinews has related news: Italy shut out Ghana for 2-0 win in Group E

Man of the Match:
Andrea Pirlo (Italy)

Assistant referees:
Aristeu Tavares (Brazil)
Ednílson Corona (Brazil)
Fourth official:
Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)
Fifth official:
Hamdi Al Kadri (Syria)

Czech Republic vs Ghana

Asamoah Gyan opened the scoring with a low left footed shot to the net from the edge of the penalty area. Gyan then missed a penalty in the second half when he hit his shot against the post in the 66th minute. Sulley Muntari got the second goal for Ghana in the 82nd minute, finishing a move with a left footed shot to the roof of the net from inside the penalty area.

17 June 2006
18:00
Czech Republic  0–2  Ghana
Report Gyan  2'
Muntari  82'
Czech Republic
Ghana
GK 1 Petr Čech
RB 2 Zdeněk Grygera
CB 21Tomáš Ujfaluši Red card 65'
CB 22David Rozehnal
LB 6 Marek Jankulovski
DM 4 Tomáš Galásek (c)  46'
RM 8 Karel Poborský  56'
CM 10Tomáš Rosický
CM 11Pavel Nedvěd
LM 20Jaroslav Plašil  68'
CF 12Vratislav Lokvenc  49'
Substitutions:
MF 19Jan Polák  46'
MF 17Jiří Štajner  56'
FW 7 Libor Sionko  68'
Manager:
Karel Brückner
GK 22Richard Kingson
RB 15John Paintsil
CB 5 John Mensah
CB 7 Illiasu Shilla
LB 13Habib Mohamed  90+3'
RM 20Otto Addo  18'  46'
CM 8 Michael Essien  37'
CM 10Stephen Appiah (c)
LM 11Sulley Muntari  84'
CF 14Matthew Amoah  80'
CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  66'  85'
Substitutions:
MF 9 Derek Boateng  75'  46'
MF 18Eric Addo  80'
FW 19Razak Pimpong  85'
Manager:
Serbia Ratomir Dujković
Wikinews has related news: Ghana surge past Czech Republic in Group E

Man of the Match:
Michael Essien (Ghana)

Assistant referees:
Darío García (Argentina)
Rodolfo Otero (Argentina)
Fourth official:
Jerome Damon (South Africa)
Fifth official:
Enock Molefe (South Africa)

Ghana vs United States

Ghana opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Haminu Draman curled a low right footed shot past the goalkeeper from the left of the penalty area. The winning goal for Ghana was a penalty at the end of the first half which Stephen Appiah shot high right footed to the goalkeepers right.

22 June 2006
16:00
Ghana  2–1  United States
Draman  22'
Appiah  45+2' (pen.)
Report Dempsey  43'
Ghana
United States
GK 22Richard Kingson
RB 15John Paintsil
CB 5 John Mensah  81'
CB 7 Illiasu Shilla  32'
LB 13Habib Mohamed
DM 8 Michael Essien  5'
RM 9 Derek Boateng  46'
LM 23Haminu Draman  80'
AM 10Stephen Appiah (c)  90+1'
CF 14Matthew Amoah  59'
CF 19Razak Pimpong
Substitutions:
MF 20Otto Addo  46'
MF 18Eric Addo  59'
FW 12Alex Tachie-Mensah  80'
Manager:
Serbia Ratomir Dujković
GK 18Kasey Keller
RB 6 Steve Cherundolo  61'
CB 13Jimmy Conrad
CB 22Oguchi Onyewu
LB 3 Carlos Bocanegra
DM 10Claudio Reyna (c)  40'
RM 8 Clint Dempsey
LM 7 Eddie Lewis  7'  74'
AM 21Landon Donovan
CF 17DaMarcus Beasley
CF 20Brian McBride
Substitutions:
MF 14Ben Olsen  40'
FW 9 Eddie Johnson  61'
MF 15Bobby Convey  74'
Manager:
Bruce Arena
Wikinews has related news: Ghana beat United States of America 2-1 in Group E

Man of the Match:
Stephen Appiah (Ghana)

Assistant referees:
Christian Schraer (Germany)
Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany)
Fourth official:
Toru Kamikawa (Japan)
Fifth official:
Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)

Brazil vs Ghana Second Round Match

27 June 2006
17:00
Brazil  3–0  Ghana
Ronaldo  5'
Adriano  45+1'
Zé Roberto  84'
Report
Brazil
Ghana
GK 1 Dida
RB 2 Cafu (c)
CB 3 Lúcio
CB 4 Juan  44'
LB 6 Roberto Carlos
CM 5 Emerson  46'
CM 11Zé Roberto
AM 8 Kaká  83'
AM 10Ronaldinho
CF 7 Adriano  13'  61'
CF 9 Ronaldo
Substitutions:
MF 17Gilberto Silva  46'
MF 19Juninho  61'
MF 20Ricardinho  83'
Manager:
Carlos Alberto Parreira
GK 22Richard Kingson
RB 15John Paintsil  29'
CB 5 John Mensah
CB 7 Illiasu Shilla
LB 6 Emmanuel Pappoe
RM 11Sulley Muntari  11'
CM 10Stephen Appiah (c)  7'
CM 18Eric Addo  38'  60'
LM 23Haminu Dramani
CF 14Matthew Amoah  70'
CF 3 Asamoah Gyan Yellow cardYellow cardRed card 48', 81'
Substitutions:
MF 9 Derek Boateng  60'
FW 12Alex Tachie-Mensah  70'
Manager:
Serbia and Montenegro Ratomir Dujković
Wikinews has related news: Brazil knock-out Ghana 3-0 to grab quarter-final place

Man of the Match:
Zé Roberto (Brazil)

Assistant referees:
Roman Slysko (Slovakia)
Martin Balko (Slovakia)
Fourth official:
Mark Shield (Australia)
Fifth official:
Nathan Gibson (Australia)


2010 FIFA World Cup

Coach: Serbia Milovan Rajevac

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club
1 1GK Daniel Adjei (1989-11-10)10 November 1989 (aged 20) 2 Ghana Liberty Professionals
2 2DF Hans Sarpei (1976-06-28)28 June 1976 (aged 33) 23 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
3 4FW Asamoah Gyan (1985-11-22)22 November 1985 (aged 24) 32 France Rennes
4 2DF John Paintsil (1981-06-15)15 June 1981 (aged 28) 65 England Fulham
5 2DF John Mensah (c) (1982-11-29)29 November 1982 (aged 27) 58 England Sunderland
6 3MF Anthony Annan (1986-07-21)21 July 1986 (aged 23) 38 Norway Rosenborg
7 2DF Samuel Inkoom (1989-08-22)22 August 1989 (aged 20) 15 Switzerland Basel
8 2DF Jonathan Mensah (1990-07-13)13 July 1990 (aged 19) 3 Spain Granada
9 3MF Derek Boateng (1983-04-02)2 April 1983 (aged 27) 19 Spain Getafe
10 3MF Stephen Appiah (1980-12-24)24 December 1980 (aged 29) 56 Italy Bologna
11 3MF Sulley Muntari (1984-08-27)27 August 1984 (aged 25) 52 Italy Internazionale
12 4FW Prince Tagoe (1986-11-09)9 November 1986 (aged 23) 17 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim
13 3MF André Ayew (1989-12-17)17 December 1989 (aged 20) 15 France Arles-Avignon
14 4FW Matthew Amoah (1980-10-24)24 October 1980 (aged 29) 31 Netherlands NAC
15 2DF Isaac Vorsah (1988-06-21)21 June 1988 (aged 21) 6 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim
16 1GK Stephen Ahorlu (1989-05-10)10 May 1989 (aged 21) 0 Ghana Heart of Lions
17 2DF Abdul Rahim Ayew (1988-04-16)16 April 1988 (aged 22) 6 Egypt Zamalek
18 4FW Dominic Adiyiah (1989-11-29)29 November 1989 (aged 20) 4 Italy Milan
19 2DF Lee Addy (1985-09-26)26 September 1985 (aged 24) 3 Ghana Bechem Chelsea
20 3MF Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (1986-04-15)15 April 1986 (aged 24) 12 Qatar Al-Sadd
21 3MF Kwadwo Asamoah (1988-09-09)9 September 1988 (aged 22) 29 Italy Udinese
22 1GK Richard Kingson (1978-06-13)13 June 1978 (aged 31) 58 England Wigan Athletic
23 3MF Kevin-Prince Boateng (1987-03-06)6 March 1987 (aged 23) 0 England Portsmouth

Serbia vs Ghana

Asamoah Gyan scored only goal of the game came in the 85th minute from the penalty spot, shooting to the goalkeepers right after a handball offence by Zdravko Kuzmanovic.

13 June 2010
16:00
Serbia  0–1  Ghana
Report Gyan  85' (pen.)
Serbia[12]
Ghana[12]
Serbia
SERBIA:[12]
GK 1 Vladimir Stojković
RB 6 Branislav Ivanović
CB 13Aleksandar Luković Yellow cardYellow cardRed card 54', 74'
CB 5 Nemanja Vidić
LB 3 Aleksandar Kolarov
CM 11Nenad Milijaš  62'
CM 10Dejan Stanković (c)
RW 17Miloš Krasić
LW 14Milan Jovanović  76'
SS 9 Marko Pantelić
CF 15Nikola Žigić  19'  69'
Substitutions:
MF 22Zdravko Kuzmanović  83'  62'
FW 8 Danko Lazović  69'
DF 20Neven Subotić  76'
Manager:
Radomir Antić
Ghana
GHANA:[12]
GK 22Richard Kingson
RB 4 John Paintsil
CB 15Isaac Vorsah  26'
CB 5 John Mensah (c)
LB 2 Hans Sarpei
CM 6 Anthony Annan
CM 23Kevin-Prince Boateng  90+1'
RW 12Prince Tagoe  89'
AM 21Kwadwo Asamoah  73'
LW 13André Ayew
CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  90+3'
Substitutions:
MF 10Stephen Appiah  73'
DF 19Lee Addy  90+1'
MF 20Quincy Owusu-Abeyie  90+3'
Manager:
Serbia Milovan Rajevac
Serbia vs Ghana

Man of the Match:
Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)

Assistant referees:
Ricardo Casas (Argentina)[11]
Hernán Maidana (Argentina)[11]
Fourth official:
Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)[11]
Fifth official:
Jeffrey Gek Pheng (Singapore)[11]

Ghana vs Australia

Asamoah Gyan scored the equalizer for Ghana in the 25th minute from the penalty spot, shooting low to the goalkeepers left after a handball by Harry Kewell on the goal-line for which he was shown a straight red card.

19 June 2010
16:00
Ghana  1–1  Australia
Gyan  25' (pen.) Report Holman  11'
Ghana[13]
Australia[13]
Ghana
GHANA:
GK 22Richard Kingson (c)
RB 4 John Paintsil
CB 8 Jonathan Mensah  79'
CB 19Lee Addy  40'
LB 2 Hans Sarpei
DM 6 Anthony Annan  84'
CM 23Kevin-Prince Boateng  87'
RW 12Prince Tagoe  56'
AM 21Kwadwo Asamoah  77'
LW 13André Ayew
CF 3 Asamoah Gyan
Substitutions:
MF 20Quincy Owusu-Abeyie  56'
MF 11Sulley Muntari  77'
FW 14Matthew Amoah  87'
Manager:
Serbia Milovan Rajevac
Australia
AUSTRALIA:
GK 1 Mark Schwarzer
RB 8 Luke Wilkshire  84'
CB 2 Lucas Neill (c)
CB 3 Craig Moore  85'
LB 21David Carney
CM 5 Jason Culina
CM 16Carl Valeri
RW 7 Brett Emerton
AM 14Brett Holman  68'
LW 23Mark Bresciano  66'
CF 10Harry Kewell Red card 24'
Substitutions:
DF 11Scott Chipperfield  66'
FW 9 Joshua Kennedy  68'
FW 17Nikita Rukavytsya  84'
Manager:
Netherlands Pim Verbeek

Man of the Match:
Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)

Assistant referees:
Paolo Calcagno (Italy)
Stefano Ayroldi (Italy)
Fourth official:
Carlos Simon (Brazil)
Fifth official:
Altemir Hausmann (Brazil)

Ghana vs Germany

23 June 2010
20:30
Ghana  0–1  Germany
Report Özil  60'
Soccer City, Johannesburg
Attendance: 83,391
Referee: Carlos Simon (Brazil)
Ghana[14]
Germany[14]
Ghana
GHANA:
GK 22Richard Kingson
RB 4 John Paintsil
CB 5 John Mensah (c)
CB 8 Jonathan Mensah
LB 2 Hans Sarpei
DM 6 Anthony Annan
CM 23Kevin-Prince Boateng
CM 21Kwadwo Asamoah
RW 12Prince Tagoe  64'
LW 13André Ayew  40'  90+2'
CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  82'
Substitutions:
MF 11Sulley Muntari  64'
FW 14Matthew Amoah  82'
FW 18Dominic Adiyiah  90+2'
Manager:
Serbia Milovan Rajevac
Germany
GERMANY:
GK 1 Manuel Neuer
RB 16Philipp Lahm (c)
CB 17Per Mertesacker
CB 3 Arne Friedrich
LB 20Jérôme Boateng  73'
CM 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger  81'
CM 6 Sami Khedira
RW 13Thomas Müller  43'  67'
AM 8 Mesut Özil
LW 10Lukas Podolski
CF 19Cacau
Substitutions:
MF 15Piotr Trochowski  67'
MF 2 Marcell Jansen  73'
MF 18Toni Kroos  81'
Manager:
Joachim Löw

Man of the Match:
Mesut Özil (Germany)

Assistant referees:
Altemir Hausmann (Brazil)
Roberto Braatz (Brazil)
Fourth official:
Martín Vázquez (Uruguay)
Fifth official:
Carlos Pastorino (Uruguay)

United States vs Ghana Second Round Match

United States vs Ghana was played on 26 June 2010 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. The match was watched by 19 million Americans, making it the most watched association football match in American television history.[15] The match was won by Ghana in extra time, after Asamoah Gyan broke a 1–1 deadlock. Kevin-Prince Boateng scored the opening goal of the match for Ghana in the 5th minute. The goal followed an error by Ricardo Clark, who lost the ball to Ghana in midfield. Boateng took the ball to the edge of the penalty area, beating US goalkeeper Tim Howard with a low left foot shot. Landon Donovan equalised with a penalty kick in the 62nd minute, awarded after Jonathan Mensah fouled Clint Dempsey. The US had chances to win the game thereafter, but they were unable to get past Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson. The match thus went to extra time. In the third minute, Gyan latched onto a high long ball, chesting it down and holding off two defenders before scoring the winner.[16] After the match, Ghana's coach Milovan Rajevac hailed his side's achievement in becoming one of the "best eight teams in the world", but regretted the number of players that would miss the quarter-final against Uruguay because of injury or suspension.[17] The president of the Soccer Federation, Sunil Gulati, lamented the team's failure to make the quarter-finals and thereby further raise the profile of the sport in the US.[18]

26 June 2010
20:30
United States  1–2 (a.e.t.)  Ghana
Donovan  62' (pen.) Report Boateng  5'
Gyan  93'
United States[19]
Ghana[19]
GK 1 Tim Howard
RB 6 Steve Cherundolo  18'
CB 15Jay DeMerit
CB 3 Carlos Bocanegra (c)  68'
LB 12Jonathan Bornstein
CM 4 Michael Bradley
CM 13Ricardo Clark  7'  31'
RW 8 Clint Dempsey
LW 10Landon Donovan
CF 17Jozy Altidore  91'
CF 20Robbie Findley  46'
Substitutions:
MF 19Maurice Edu  31'
MF 22Benny Feilhaber  46'
FW 9 Herculez Gomez  91'
Manager:
Bob Bradley
GK 22Richard Kingson
CB 4 John Paintsil
CB 5 John Mensah (c)
CB 8 Jonathan Mensah  61'
RWB 7 Samuel Inkoom  113'
LWB 2 Hans Sarpei  73'
CM 6 Anthony Annan
CM 23Kevin-Prince Boateng  78'
RW 21Kwadwo Asamoah
LW 13André Ayew  90+2'
CF 3 Asamoah Gyan
Substitutions:
DF 19Lee Addy  73'
MF 10Stephen Appiah  78'
MF 11Sulley Muntari  113'
Manager:
Serbia Milovan Rajevac

Man of the Match:
André Ayew (Ghana)

Assistant referees:
Gábor Erős (Hungary)
Tibor Vámos (Hungary)
Fourth official:
Michael Hester (New Zealand)
Fifth official:
Tevita Makasini (Tonga)


Uruguay vs Ghana Quarter-Final Match

Uruguay and Ghana met on 2 July 2010 at Soccer City, Johannesburg for a place in the semi-final against the Netherlands. It was the first time that the teams had ever played each other in a senior competitive football match. After a dramatic 120 minutes of play (including extra time) that finished 1–1, Uruguay won in a penalty shoot-out 4–2.[20] Uruguay dominated the early periods of the match, but suffered an injury to captain Diego Lugano in the first half. Just before half-time, Ghana took the lead when Sulley Muntari was allowed time on the ball by Uruguay, and took advantage by scoring with a shot from 40 yards. After half-time, Diego Forlán pulled Uruguay level with a free kick from the left side of the field that went over the head of Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson. While both teams had chances to win, the match proceeded to extra time as the scores remained level. Late in extra time, Ghana sent a free kick into the box; Luis Suárez blocked Stephen Appiah's shot on the goal line.[21] On the rebound, Dominic Adiyiah's header was heading into the goal, but Suárez blatantly blocked the shot with his hands[22] to save what would have been the extra-time winner[23] and he was red carded. Asamoah Gyan missed the ensuing penalty kick off the crossbar[21] and Suárez celebrated the miss.[24][25][26] In the shootout, Gyan converted his penalty,[23] as did everybody else until the 4th round of penalty kicks when Adiyiah's penalty was saved by Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Uruguay's Maxi Pereira then hit his penalty kick over the bar. Muslera saved Captain John Mensah's, and Ghana's fifth, penalty.[20] Sebastián Abreu converted Uruguay's fifth spot kick by lightly chipping it Panenka-style to win the match.[27] After the game, Suárez said, "I made the save of the tournament,"[23] and, referring to the infamous handball goal scored by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup, claimed that "The 'Hand of God' now belongs to me." Suárez claimed he had no alternative and was acting out of instinct.[28] Forlán agreed that Suárez saved the game, "Suárez this time, instead of scoring goals, he saved one, I think he saved the game.[23] Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac said the play was an "injustice"[25] and Suárez was labeled a "villain"[28][29] and a "cheat".[22][30] But Uruguay coach, Óscar Tabárez, said these labels were too harsh, "Well, there was a handball in the penalty area, there was a red card and Suárez was thrown out. Saying that Ghana were cheated out of the game is too harsh. We have to go by the rules. It might have been a mistake by my player but I do not like that word ‘cheating’."[31] Ghana was the last African team left in the tournament and if they had won, they would have been the first team from Africa to ever make the semifinals.[32] Thus, Suárez was said to have "enraged an entire continent [Africa]."[24] But others viewed him as a hero[22][24][33] who sacrificed himself in the semifinal for the unlikely chance that his team could win.[30][34] A distraught Gyan conceded, "I would say Suárez is a hero now in his own country, because the ball was going in and he held it with his hand. He is a hero now."[32]

Uruguay[35]
Ghana[35]
GK 1 Fernando Muslera
RB 16Maxi Pereira
CB 2 Diego Lugano (c)  38'
CB 6 Mauricio Victorino
LB 4 Jorge Fucile  20'
RM 20Álvaro Fernández  46'
CM 15Diego Pérez  59'
CM 17Egidio Arévalo  48'
LM 7 Edinson Cavani  76'
CF 9 Luis Suárez Red card 120+1'
CF 10Diego Forlán
Substitutions:
DF 19Andrés Scotti  38'
MF 14Nicolás Lodeiro  46'
FW 13Sebastián Abreu  76'
Manager:
Óscar Tabárez
GK 22Richard Kingson
RB 4 John Paintsil  54'
CB 15Isaac Vorsah
CB 5 John Mensah (c)  93'
LB 2 Hans Sarpei  77'
DM 6 Anthony Annan
RM 7 Samuel Inkoom  74'
CM 21Kwadwo Asamoah
CM 23Kevin-Prince Boateng
LM 11Sulley Muntari  88'
CF 3 Asamoah Gyan
Substitutions:
MF 10Stephen Appiah  74'
FW 18Dominic Adiyiah  88'
Manager:
Serbia Milovan Rajevac

Man of the Match:
Diego Forlán (Uruguay)

Assistant referees:
Jose Manuel Silva Cardinal (Portugal)
Bertino Miranda (Portugal)
Fourth official:
Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Fifth official:
Fermín Martínez Ibánez (Spain)


2014 FIFA World Cup

Head coach: Ghana James Kwesi Appiah

Ghana vs United States

The United States beat Ghana, 2-1.

Germany vs Ghana

Germany and Ghana tied, 2-2.

Portugal vs Ghana

Portugal beat Ghana, 2-1.

References

  1. "FIFA World Cup Record". FIFA.com. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  2. "1990 FIFA World Cup Schedule". Planet World Cup. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Ghana 2–1 USA". BBC. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  4. "Rehhagel: Africa is catching up". fifa.com (Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)).
  5. "Black Stars Ascend To Glory". fifa.com (Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)).
  6. Black Stars 13th ranked – 2006 FIFA World Cup
  7. Fletcher, Paul. "Uruguay 1–1 Ghana (4–2 pens)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  8. "Ghana records best World Cup ranking". ghanafa.org (Ghana Football Association (GFA)). 13 July 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  9. Asamoah has spent the run up to the tournament on loan to Modena.
  10. Dramani joined Gençlerbirliği after the tournament.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Referee designations for matches 1-16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
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  15. "U.S. V Ghana Tie Most-Watched Soccer Game in U.S. History". ABC News (American Broadcasting Company). 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
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  22. 1 2 3 "The Luis Suarez story part two – new Liverpool FC star always one to hit the headlines". Liverpool Echo. 10 February 2011. p. 3. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
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