Act Daily News
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Uruguay and Ghana’s quarterfinal assembly at South Africa 2010 is extensively seen as one of the crucial iconic World Cup matches in historical past.
On a tense night in Johannesburg, this was a recreation that had all the things; drama, controversy, heartbreak, a villain and a hero – by the way, each performed by the identical particular person.
Luis Suárez’s position as Uruguay’s savior that evening made him persona non grata in Ghana, even incomes him the nickname ‘El Diablo,’ or ‘The Devil.’
With the scores degree at 1-1 and the sport approaching the ultimate seconds of additional time, Suárez blocked a goal-bound winner on the road together with his palms. It was a aim that might have put Ghana into the World Cup semifinal, making it the primary African crew in historical past to succeed in the ultimate 4.
Instead, Suárez was despatched off, however Asamoah Gyan, Ghana’s star man and captain, missed the penalty. Images of Suárez wildly celebrating the miss within the tunnel turned one of many enduring moments of that World Cup and solely additional angered the already incandescent Ghanaian supporters.
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Ghana went on to lose the following penalty shootout and with it the crew’s probability at creating historical past.
Now, forward of the primary assembly between these sides since that memorable evening greater than 12 years in the past, Suárez insists he has nothing to make an apology for.
“I don’t apologize about that … but the player is gonna miss a penalty,” Suárez informed reporters within the buildup to the rematch, per Reuters. “Maybe, I can say [I] apologize if I injure the participant and take a crimson card.
“But in this situation, I take a red card and the ref said penalty. This is not my fault because I didn’t miss. It’s not my responsibility to shoot the penalty.”
Time heals all wounds, because the saying goes, however that clearly hasn’t been the case with Ghana’s emotions in the direction of Suárez. In the wake of the Black Stars’ dramatic 3-2 win over South Korea at Qatar 2022, jubilant followers exterior Education City Stadium have been already calling out El Pistolero.
The stakes are excessive this time spherical, too, although not fairly as excessive as they have been in 2010.
Ghana will face Uruguay on Friday in a match that may play an enormous half in deciding which crew goes via to the spherical of 16. Ghana is aware of a victory will assure its place within the knockout levels, with a draw additionally being sufficient if Portugal beats South Korea.
For Uruguay, nonetheless, solely a win will do – and even then La Celeste should hope that South Korea fails to beat Portugal.
“It’s all about perspective,” Ghana coach Otto Addo mentioned of the handball, per Reuters. “If the same incident would have happened the other way around and Ghana would proceed to the semifinals, everybody would say: ‘OK, it’s normal that a player will do anything he can.’”
“This is what I wish from every player, to do all he can to help his team qualify to serve and sometimes sacrificing himself with a red card.”
Ghana vs. Uruguay: 10am ET
South Korea vs. Portugal: 10am ET
Cameroon vs. Brazil: 2pm ET
Serbia vs. Switzerland: 2pm ET
US: Fox Sports
UK: BBC or ITV
Australia: SBS
Brazil: SportTV
Germany: ARD, ZDF, Deutsche Telekom
Canada: Bell Media
South Africa: SABC