2006 World Cup: I saw my goal against Czech Republic before the game – Gyan  

Africa’s leading goal scorer at the World Cup, Asamoah Gyan, says he predicted his goal against the Czech Republic before the game in 2006.

The 36-year-old discloses that after playing his first-ever game at the World Cup, he knew he was going to score in the next game because of the experience he gathered from the Italy clash.

“Our first game, Italy taught us a lesson. Although we played quite well, you could see they beat us with experience,” he told DStv.

“When we went back to the hotel, I and my brother were in a room and I told him, ‘I feel I am going to score in the next game because I know how the World Cup is now’.

“I didn’t know the goal will come that early – It was 1 minute eight seconds. It was the fastest goal at the 2006 World Cup. I didn’t know it was going to come this early but I predicted a goal because I felt it.”

The former Black Stars captain went on to narrate the events leading to one of the most talked about goals in his career against the United States of America (USA) in the 2010 World Cup.

The goal sealed Ghana’s qualification to a historic quarter-final berth before cashing out against Uruguay.

“I remember the game against USA I was sick,” he added. “I was down with malaria. The doctor said they thought I was not going to play the game.

“I was vomiting in the dressing room. I went there and everything changed so obviously I scored the winning goal during extra-time.”