Former Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has discussed the penalty miss that ended Ghana’s hopes at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Ghana performed well throughout the tournament but lost their chance to reach the semifinals after a 4–2 penalty shootout defeat to Uruguay in the quarterfinals.

The Black Stars had taken the lead through a stunning long-range strike from Sulley Muntari, before Diego Forlán equalized for Uruguay.

Late in extra time, Ghana received a penalty after Luis Suárez deliberately handled Dominic Adiyiah’s header on the goal line. Gyan took the penalty, but his shot struck the crossbar.

In an interview with former England defender Rio Ferdinand, Gyan revealed that the team had practiced penalties the day before the match, and he had successfully converted 20 out of 20 attempts. However, when the decisive moment arrived, he felt internal doubt even though he was the designated penalty taker.

Gyan acknowledged that the miss remains the most difficult moment of his career, stating he felt he had “let Africa down” after Ghana’s historic opportunity was lost.