There are no winners in revenge missions. Sentiments demanded that Ghana right its 2010 World Cup quarter-final mistakes against Uruguay and make amends for Luis Suarez’s last-minute handball injury. There is no time to think about redemption concepts. Ghana missed a penalty and were eliminated again, although Suárez set up two, with the consolation that it was South Korea, not Uruguay, who advanced to the last 16 against Portugal.
Uruguay did not respond well. As the Ghanaians sat exhausted on the pitch, the Uruguayan players surrounded distinctive German referee Daniel Siebert with the final whistle, giving at least one of two big penalty appeals in the second half. I was furious that I couldn’t. The Ghanaian fans had resigned and left by then and seemed to be enjoying the whole thing immensely. Suárez cried on the bench when Jose Jiménez got furious with Sievert.
This was a game haunted by memories of what happened at Soccer City 12 years ago, especially that moment in the final minute of extra time. The image was always there, a twisted football pieta flying around in my peripheral vision. Foreground Stephen Appiah made the first blocked effort (probably offside, but no one talks about it), and John Mensah and goalkeeper Fernando Muslera go down together Andrés. Scotty, Dominic Adiya, stretched a loose ball towards goal, Jorge Fuchire arched his back, pumped his left fist to miss a handle attempt, and Suárez dashed to the right to steal the ball. It’s the Pisgah of African football, a moment that saw promised land for the World Cup semi-finals, but was denied.
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This week, billboards across Accra depicted the incident with the slogan “Revenge!: Support the Black Stars.” The fact that the Ghanaians still feel the pain of the moment was made clear during the pre-match press conference. Suárez appears alone with a characteristic sense of provocative showmanship, with Ghanaian journalists describing him as “the devil himself” (for lack of confusion, “El Diablo”). add) and “retire” him. He has no regrets, he said. he was being punished. He was shown a red card and missed the semi-finals as a result. It wasn’t his fault that Asamoah his gan missed a penalty.
Was this an elaborate screw-in? Suárez clearly failed to impress in the group as he only played 81 minutes in his stage and shot just one goal (off target). But if this is his game with one giant mind, Uruguay has taken it to the extreme, appointing Suárez as captain. Did Andrea Yew, the only Ghanaian player to appear for Al his Janub in the 2010 quarter-finals, have that in mind when he stepped up to score a penalty?
Of course, there was a lot of penalty controversy. How come it doesn’t exist? Uruguay keeper Sergio Roche apparently tripped Mohamed his Kudus, but Ayew was initially ruled offside. The penalty was awarded automatically when VAR proved he had been played partially onside by the heel of Matias Olivera. But Ayew’s kick was dismal and easily saved.
Then, an hour earlier, Darwin Nunez went down after being challenged by Daniel Amarti. Sievert did not give it and decided not to overturn the decision, told to refer to the screen, usually at the signal that he saw the ball touched slightly. It was a decision that proved crucial for Uruguay’s goal difference. Had it been given and converted, they would have passed. Edinson Cavani gave another decent shout in stoppage time, at which point the news broke that South Korea had beaten Portugal, and the match turned into a frenzied slugfest, with all form collapsing, attack after attack. I was.
The moment was there for Ghana, who were trailing by two at kick-off, but they missed it. What followed had a sense of inevitability. Few teams are better at sensing the emotional pulse of the game than Uruguay. Uruguay soared while Ghana shook. Mohamed Salis had already cleared the line from Nunez when Suarez’s shot was half blocked by Lawrence Ati Gigi. The ball would have been rolling anyway, but Giorgian de Arrascaeta nodded as he crossed the line from close range.
Six minutes later, after a skillful flick by Suárez, a second volley was fired. He may be his 35, but he’s starting to see a belly under his shirt, but much has been taken, but much remains. The magic remains in his brain and touch.
And the anger that was strangely lacking against South Korea returned. He was enraged by the referee, needled Salis and moved his body to win a free-kick before being withdrawn 65 minutes later. he defeated them again.
Perhaps the devil is never quite done, but this time it wasn’t enough. Shots of him sobbing on the big screen were gleefully heckled. Ghana is gone, but at least they took the devil with them.
