Friday, July 2 vs December 2: History repeated in different years for Ghana-Uruguay match

There is an interesting repetition of the history of the World Cup games between Ghana and Uruguay: both games were played on a Friday, and those days were both the second days of the months they were played in.

And to be even more specific, both games are big deciders for either Ghana or Uruguay on whether they advance in the competition or not.

But a day like this has always been looked forward to by most Ghanaians because of one unique experience: Ghanaians believe that Uruguay stole some sort of glory from them, and so they deserve payback.

Or, is it a case of making up for the error the Ghana Black Stars brought on themselves and, for that matter, on the country?

Like a bad dream, that 2010 World Cup game between Ghana and the South American side, Uruguay, and how it ended in the most dramatically devastating way for Ghanaians, has not been easily forgotten.

For many Ghanaians, the fact that Uruguay’s Luis Suarez stopped that goal-bound header from Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah, with his hands, was the moment that denied the country its chance to represent Africa in the semi-finals for the first time.

The pain was sharper and deeper because this incident happened in the closing stages of the quarter-finals encounter between the two teams, in a game that the Black Stars delivered a fairly good performance.

The Black Stars got a penalty for that act, and Suarez was rightfully sent off as punishment, but what was supposed to turn into Ghana’s glory took the fastest nosedive in the country’s football history: Asamoah Gyan missed it.

But while there is still a public discussion on whether or not this should be a revenge game for the Black Stars, it is hard to overlook the rather spooky repetition of history concerning the date of both matches.

In 2010, when Ghana met the South American side, Uruguay, it missed a great opportunity to prove itself, but the young lads wearing the country’s national colours have given all indications of their preparedness to retain that glory for their nation.

Uruguay got away with a win in that 2010 fixture and they are also coming back into this game with every technique to cement their bragging rights over the West African team, but for Ghana, it’s now or never.

Call it revenge or call it a confirmation of their football prowess and competitiveness in the Mundial, and you wouldn’t be wrong.

In the end, if history replays itself as it is, then perhaps, it might just be another good day for Uruguay – without all the drama, or, it could just easily give the Ghana side a seat beside its two other African countries that have so far qualified from their group stages: Senegal and Morocco.

Whatever it takes, the Friday, December 2, 2022, game is going to be one of the biggest of the tournament and many pundits will look to see how it all plays out.

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