Ghana’s all-time leading scorer, Asamoah Gyan, has openly criticized his 2010 FIFA World Cup teammates for failing to stand by him during the backlash over his missed penalty against Uruguay in the quarterfinals.
During a recent Instagram Live session, Gyan defended his decision to take the penalty in the dying moments of extra time, addressing the criticism he faced when Ghana fell short of becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals.
“When the penalty miss happened, I was abused and called names because some people said I should have left it for someone else,” Gyan shared. “Why didn’t they step up to take it? They were afraid. Cowards. I’ll say it—they are cowards. The fans can say what they want, but sometimes we need to educate them. Yet, nobody spoke up for me.”
The penalty was awarded after Luis Suárez’s dramatic handball blocked Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-bound header. While Gyan was Ghana’s designated penalty taker, his strike hit the crossbar, forcing a penalty shootout in which Ghana ultimately lost.
Gyan also dismissed accusations that he missed intentionally, calling such claims baseless. “How could anyone suggest I missed the penalty on purpose? For what reason exactly? I was Ghana’s first-choice penalty taker. Why would you go behind my back and talk about me missing the penalty?”
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