The clash between Ghana and Uruguay in Group H on Friday at this year’s edition of the FIFA World Cup is one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament.
Forget the record 88, 966 crowd in Qatar that watched talisman Lionel Messi on Saturday when his Argentina beat Mexico 2-0, which according to World Cup records, is the largest in close to three decades. Messi who is regarded as one of the best players ever, is set to retire after the Qatar World Cup.
The match between Uruguay and Ghana is generating a lot of interest.
On July 2, 2010 at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg at the FIFA World Cup when Ghana was on the verge of going into the semi-finals of the World Cup, Luis Suarez’s hand changed the trajectory of history when he deliberately handled a goal-bound header in the dying minutes of extra time.
Suarez was shown the red card. However, Africa’s most prolific scorer in World Cup history, Asamoah Gyan, then missed the penalty, hitting the cross bar and the match tied 1-1 was decided by penalties.
Gyan is Africa’s all-time leading goal scorer in the World Cup with six goals.
Ghana's Asamoah Gyan (L) shoots to score a goal against Germany during their 2014 World Cup Group G soccer match.
Ghana went on to lose 4-2. Ghana’s Gyan and Sully Muntari, who scored after 45 minutes and Diego Forlan of Uruguay, who scored after 55 minutes in 2010, are not part of the latest clash.
L'Uruguayen Luis Suarez
However, Suarez nicknamed ‘El Pistolero’ (The Gunman)- who broke not only the hearts of Ghana but also probably the entire Africa continent, is expected to lead the Uruguayan attack.
Suarez though has been firing blanks at the 2022 World Cup as his side is yet to score a single goal and is anchoring Group H with a single point.
Uruguay drew its first match 0-0 against South Korea and was beaten 2-0 by leaders Portugal. The Portuguese have already qualified with 6 points. Ghana is second with 3 points after losing 3-2 to Portugal before beating South Korea 3-2.
A draw against Uruguay will see Ghana qualifying for the Round of 16. So far, Morocco, Croatia, Portugal, France, Brazil, Poland, Senegal, Netherlands, Australia, USA, England and Argentina have punched their tickets to the next round.