My career would’ve ended if I didn’t retake penalty against Uruguay after missing- Gyan

Ghana legend Asamoah Gyan believes his career would’ve been over if he hadn’t picked himself up to retake the penalty against Uruguay after initially missing his kick.

The former Sunderland forward endured one of his worst moments when he missed a late penalty against Uruguay in the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Despite being despaired, Gyan elected to take Ghana’s first penalty in the ensuing shootout and scored, but the Black Stars were unable to advance, with the South Americans triumphing 4-2.

Harking back to that moment, Gyan said he was desperate to make amends after his initial penalty miss, adding that his career would’ve been over if he didn’t show enough mental fortitude to come back.

“I’m a very competitive guy. I hate to lose so when I make a mistake, it doesn’t mean I’m incompetent. So I want to prove to people that humans make mistakes but they can be corrected. That is why I elected to take the first penalty in the shootout after missing my kick,” Gyan said on Wontumi FM.

“I strongly believe if I didn’t retake that penalty, it would’ve been the end of my career… Ronaldo is very competitive too, that’s why he was crying. He has passion for the game.”

Gyan defends Ronaldo after penalty miss against Slovenia

Meanwhile, Gyan also reacted to Cristiano Ronaldo breaking down in tears following his penalty miss against Slovenia in the round of 16 of the 2024 European Championship.

The 38-year-old said no footballer intentionally misses a penalty, while attributing Ronaldo’s breakdown to his competitiveness and strong passion for the game.

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