In 2010, Ghana found themselves in uncharted territory. Taking part in just their second World Cup, the Black Stars were on the verge of the semi-finals in South Africa. All that stood between them and history was Uruguay and Luis Suarez. 

Some referred to what happened next as flagrant cheating, others as clever opportunism. Whatever the truth, it remains one of the most divisive moments the World Cup has ever known.

To get to that quarterfinal in Johannesburg, Ghana had beaten Serbia and drawn Australia in their group. When they knocked out the United States in the first knockout stage, they advanced beyond their previous tournament best from four years before. 

Ghanaian football was breaking new ground, and significantly it was doing so at the first World Cup staged on African soil.

Milovan Rajevac’s side was hard-working and organised but had enough personality to capture hearts and minds. So as the last remaining African team left in the tournament, they entered that quarterfinal against Uruguay with most of their continent behind them and much of the rest of the world. There was no question Ghana were the story of 2010.

And they started the game brilliantly. Twenty seconds before half-time, Sulley Muntari scored one of the tournament’s best goals, finding the net from 35 yards. It brought a loud noise from the 94,000 fans in the stadium. 

Muntari and his teammates danced in celebration as the sound of the vuvuzelas hummed around them and above them, but Uruguay were writing a story of their own.

Ten minutes into the second half. Diego Forlan rattled a brilliant free-kick past goalkeeper Richard Kingston to bring the South Americans level, and from that point onwards, penalties seemed inevitable. 

The Ghanaians were not an expansive side and created few opportunities. Still, they trusted their defence and aside from one or two intelligent saves, much of the next hour passed without incident as 90 minutes became extra time. But in the 121st minute, something stunned the watching world.

With extra time in the end and a penalty shootout looming, Ghana loaded the box for a John Painstil free kick deep in the Uruguay half. Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera failed to claim the cross, and after a frantic pinball on the goal line, substitute Dominic Adiyiah rose to head firmly towards the goal past the stricken goalkeeper. 

It appeared that Ghana would reach their World Cup semi-final for a moment, but no, Luis Suarez, who had dropped back to the goal line, punched the ball clear with his hand. The referee instantly blew his whistle, pointed at the spot and gave Suarez a red card, sending him off. This set up a grandstand finish.

With the last kick of the game, Asamoah Gyan had a chance to put Ghana through and who is better? The talented player had already scored penalties against Serbia and Australia in the group stage. He placed the ball, stepped back and hit the top of the bar.

The crowd sagged in disappointment, and the Ghanaian and Uruguayan players alike sank to their knees. Gyan held his head in his hands. Suarez had left the pitch in tears but was shown celebrating wildly on the sidelines as his calculated sacrifice had paid off, and the penalty shootout that followed only promised to be crueller.

So it proved, with Sebastian Abreu floating a ludicrous panenka into the net to send Uruguay through. It remains to this day, one of the cruellest World Cup moments in history.

Michael Aje, a veteran Ghanaian journalist who covered the game from the Press Box that night, told The Independent in 2020 that it was the most painful experience for many football fans.

And that’s easy to believe. With the Ghanaian players broken on the pitch, television cameras panned around the eerily silent stadium, settling on the devastated faces of supporters wrapped in Ghanaian flags and many others from different countries who’d bought tickets for the game and thrown their weight behind the neutral’s favourite.