{"id":109522,"date":"2023-10-11T21:08:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T21:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/10\/11\/i-wish-i-could-go-back\/"},"modified":"2023-10-11T21:08:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T21:08:53","slug":"i-wish-i-could-go-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/10\/11\/i-wish-i-could-go-back\/","title":{"rendered":"I wish I could go back"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Asamoah Gyan missed a late penalty against Uruguay during 2010 World Cup in South Africa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Asamoah Gyan says he wished he could go back and\u00a0redeem himself after he missed a penalty against Uruguay during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Having impressed in the group phase and the Round of 16, the Black Stars faced the South American side in their quarterfinal game.<\/p>\n

Ghana was awarded a penalty after Luiz Suarez prevented Dominic Adiyah\u2019s later header in the dire minute of the game.<\/p>\n

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However, the former Sunderland striker was given the opportunity to make Ghana the first African side to reach the semifinal\u00a0but he was denied by the crossbar from the spot kick despite sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.<\/p>\n

Ghana eventually lost in the ensuing penalty shootout, missing out on a place in the semifinal when the spot was within their grasp.<\/p>\n

Gyan, who is the country\u2019s all-time leading goalscorer\u00a0remembered the painful incident, as quoted by Eurofoot, saying \u201cTill today, any time I\u2019m alone, it still haunts me\u2026 sometimes I feel like the world should go back again so I can redeem myself. But I know this is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I accept that because there is nothing I can do about it. I went there to save my country, but I ended up being the villain, which I accept because I know how people feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to him, the aftermath of the incident was a disaster for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a disaster. It was crazy. I couldn\u2019t sleep the whole night because I was crying the whole night until morning\u2026 All I was telling myself was to get another chance because I knew I could redeem myself even if not football, something else. But even if I don\u2019t, my kids will do it one day,\u201d\u00a0he added.<\/p>\n

Gyan, who is Africa\u2019s top scorer in World Cup history with six goals in 11 appearances across three tournaments, had a stellar career for the Black Stars of Ghana.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After 20 years of dedicated service to club and country, Asamoah Gyan announced his retirement in June 2023 at age 37, with 51 goals in 109 caps for the Black Stars.<\/p>\n

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