Former Ghana defender John Paintsil has revealed that he and his teammates rated Uruguay below other quarterfinalists in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Ghana faced off against the South American side after beating USA in the round of 16 that year. The match went into penalties which Uruguay won, piercing the hearts of Ghanaians.
Paintsil revealed that as compared to other opponents at the time, the team felt Uruguay was the weakest but they were humbled.
“The 2010 World Cup taught me so many things. First is togetherness, bringing the whole world together when South Africa hosted that World Cup. It taught me humility also,” he stated on Countdown Qatar.
“That happened in the quarterfinals where we thought Uruguay was the weakest link among our potential opponents. We had watched their games and we thought they wouldn’t be a big threat to us but they humbled us when they defeated us on penalties.”
“Anytime I remember the Uruguay game, it brings a lot of memories. Now I’m experienced enough to understand that it’s part of the game. You win, you lose and football is dynamic. These things happen to great players and great teams. We believed that if we had beaten Uruguay, we would have eventually made it to the final or even won the trophy but we don’t stop following football because of the defeat.”
The Black Stars have been drawn against Uruguay, Portugal and South Korea in Group H at the 2022 World Cup.
They are set to face Uruguay on 2nd December 2022.
By: Bill Eshun|3Sports|Ghana
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