Athletic Bilbao striker Inaki Williams has disclosed how he reacted to Asamoah Gyan’s costly penalty miss against Uruguay during the 2010 World Cup.
The 28-year-old said he was keenly following the Black Stars and was left sad when they lost to the South Americans in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Ghana was on the verge of becoming the first African team to reach the last four of the World Cup before losing on penalties to Uruguay following a 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time.
The defeat was made more painful by the fact that Ghana had a penalty in the final seconds of extra time after Luis Suarez used his hand to keep out Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-bound header.
Although Suarez was sent off for his unsporting act and Ghana awarded a penalty, Gyan missed from the spot, with Uruguay going on to record a 4-2 victory in the shootout.
“When Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty against Uruguay I was very sad because I lived that World Cup a lot, very involved with Ghana,” Williams told Marca.
Ghana and Uruguay will face each other again at the 2022 World Cup after being paired together in Group H, alongside Portugal and South Korea.
Williams believes despite the Black Stars’ status as underdogs, they possess a team good enough to surprise anyone.
“We have a very young team, but with a lot of quality. Most of them play in Europe. We can do great things in the World Cup.
“It’s not an easy group, but there is a very powerful team. We can surprise anyone. We’re not going favorites and that’s good for us,” he added.
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