Gyan was on the end of almost everything and attempted the most shots (10) in the game. With extra time flying by without each side creating a decent opening, a moment of madness preceded the final whistle. Ghana were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box with seconds remaining. Paintsil’s delivery was flicked on dangerously by Kevin-Prince Boateng. Muslera came out but didn’t gather as the ball came off Mensah’s head. The ball fell kindly into the path of Appiah whose shot was cleared off the line. The rebound was then headed by Adiyiah. Time stopped in the stadium as the ball seemed destined for the back of the net, until Suarez stuck out his hand to swat away an entire continent’s dreams. Referee Olegario Benquerenca – a replacement for the initially appointed Howard Webb – brought an end to the pinball after he spotted the handball and immediately sent Suarez off.
But the Black Stars’ talisman saw his near post effort saved by Muslera. The game grew more and more into a back-and-forth scrap, with both sides taking turns to attack. The best chance of the half fell to Uruguay with about 20 minutes left to play. Forlan and Suarez came close to recreating their first goal against South Korea in the round of 16. Forlan floated a pin point cross but Suarez’s effort marginally missed the goal, brushing the side netting. Minutes later, Suarez saw his poked effort parried by Kingson before Gyan benefitted off a defensive mistake on the other end to force a save from Muslera with his first-time volley. Well-constructed moves, poor execution – that was the story of the final 15 minutes as both sides couldn’t be separated after 90 minutes. For the second consecutive game, Ghana went into extra time without showing any signs of slowing down, as they continued to dominate proceedings.
Perhaps their dominance coincided with the injury of Uruguay captain Lugano, who was replaced by Andres Scotti. Ghana were on the ascendancy as illustrated in the expected goals race chart below and Gyan should have scored his fourth goal of the tournament after purposeful wing play by Kevin-Prince Boateng, but his side foot effort from around the penalty spot went just wide. At that point, Uruguay were struggling to deal with Ghana’s positional play as Boateng, Muntari and Kwadwo Asamoah continually found space in the middle of the park. With just a few minutes left for the half-time break, the crowd started to boo Suarez after he asked for Vorsah to be carded following a collision from an aerial duel.
A look at the expected goals at half time read 0. 19 for Uruguay, 0. 40 for Ghana – perhaps suggesting that the hosts had every right to start to dream. But it was still premature to start celebrating and the players knew it, as they quickly mobilised to form a circle on the pitch. The message? Keep your heads in the game. Senior players like John Paintsil, Kevin-Prince Boateng and John Mensah kept pinning both index fingers on their head. Mensah, who had the armband, kept shouting “concentration”. Unsurprisingly, Ghana made no changes heading into the second half. Uruguay, on the other hand, replaced Alvaro Fernandez with attacking midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro. Although Ghana began the second half right where they left off, it was Uruguay who scored against the run of play.
2) for Ghana at the World Cup so far. Conversely, Uruguay’s defensive pillar Diego Godin was ruled out of the game due to a thigh injury, as Alvaro Fernandez replaced Alvaro Pereira in midfield. The game was expected to be closely contested, but the atmosphere in the stadium marginally tilted the odds towards Ghana even before a ball was kicked.
The pattern would become a familiar sight, as Ghana sought to create from the wings. Twelve years after the epic match, Inkoom reveals to The Analyst that coach Milovan slotted him into the team primarily due to his crossing ability. “Before the Uruguay game, Rajevac told me to try to cross each time because I have a good cross and Asamoah Gyan is dominant in the air. ” Prior to the Uruguay game Inkoom had made nine open play crosses for Ghana in just two games, which was only behind Andre Ayew (13) and John Pantsil (16). The game looked like it would head into the break goalless until Gyan laid off a pass to Muntari in the middle of the park. The Internazionale midfielder unleashed a powerful shot from 35 yards which swerved away from Muslera and nestled in the back of the net. For Muntari, this goal sent a pointed statement, because he would not have played at the World Cup had it not been for Nyantakyi.
Ghana vs Uruguay, FIFA World Cup 2022: 12 years on, Black
Claude Le Roy was appointed but hastily sacked two years later following Ghana’s failure to win the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations as hosts. Following Sellas Tetteh’s hire on an interim basis, Milovan Rajevac was eventually confirmed as head coach of the Black Stars. Rajevac worked wonders in the space of a few months, reaching the final of the 2009 African Nations Championship and the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Ghanaian football was on the rise as the U20 team had also won the youth AFCON and World Cup in the same time frame.
Forlan stepped up and converted his fifth shot of the game after his free kick fooled Kingson to bring Uruguay level. The small section of Uruguayan fans went berserk, as the majority of the 80, 000+ fans present went dead silent. It was Forlan’s 27th goal for La Celeste – potentially the most crucial one he had scored to date. Kingson looked disappointed especially because Ghana had relied on him, with the Wigan Athletic goalkeeper making 15 saves in the tournament before the Uruguay game. Despite the South Americans starting to take control, Gyan was presented with a half chance after a pass from Kevin-Prince Boateng.
However, Uruguay started brighter, with Forlan being heavily involved as Ghana struggled to get out of their own half. Forlan had adopted a shoot on sight approach for the game and nearly caught Richard Kingson off guard with a free kick close to the halfway point. Tabárez’s men thought they had taken the lead after 15 minutes when Forlan’s corner deflected off John Mensah but a point blank save from Kingson denied the one time world champions. It was a heart in mouth moment for the Black Stars, especially because Soccer City had already witnessed two own goals during the tournament from Denmark and South Korea. Ghana had to wait till the 20th minute for their first touch in Uruguay’s penalty box. The crowd was visibly distraught, and they started a Mexican wave to encourage the teams to ignite the tempo of the game.
Ghana vs Uruguay Prediction, Free Betting Tips & Odds
Ghana vs Uruguay, World Cup on Fri, Dec 2, 2022, 15:00 UTC
Ghana vs Uruguay: World Cup 2022 prediction, kick off time
Ghana vs Uruguay Prediction, Odds & Betting Tips 02/12/2022