Black Stars of Ghana captain Andre Ayew says Ghana shouldn’t be thinking about a revenge against Uruguay at the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament.
Uruguay beat Ghana at the Quarter-Finals stage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa under controversial circumstances.
Ghana won a penalty after Uruguay striker Luis Suarez punched a goal-bound header in the last minute of extra time.
Suarez was sent off and Ghana’s Gyan Asamoah fired the resultant penalty kick against the bar.
That miss elicited jubilation from Suarez and the South Americans won the penalty shoot-out.
Many fans in Ghana and Africa have been looking for the chance for Uruguay to repay the debt owed.
Now both teams will square-off in Group H in Qatar – but Ayew thinks revenge should be the last thing on their minds.
“As a team leader, I don’t believe we should view this game as revenge,” Ayew said on Ghana Soccer Net.
“Instead, we must be smart enough to recognize that it is a match we need points from. We just want to win against Uruguay after everything that has been said in the media.
“As a player, if you go into a game with the intent of retaliation, you can make a lot of mistakes and be hyper,” he continued.
“We just need to stay calm, follow the plan, and try to win the game, or do whatever we can to advance to the next stage.”
Opportunity
Ayew was part of the team that missed out from getting a first-ever Semi Final appearance in 2010.
This would definitely be his last hurray on the global stage as a new generation of Ghanaian players are taking over.
Ghana squares off with Uruguay in their final Group H game on December 2nd after the November 24 game against Portugal and 28th against South Korea.
