July 2: The day Suarez denied Ghana a semi-final berth at the 2010 World Cup

On July 2, 2010, Luis Suarez denied Ghana a chance to become the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history at the Soccer City in South Africa.

Ghana seemed destined to make history as the first African team to reach the tournament's last four when Luis Suarez received a red card for deliberately handling the ball on the goal line in the dying seconds of extra time.

A penalty was awarded to Ghana, but striker Asamoah Gyan, who had already converted two spot-kicks in the tournament, saw his effort agonizingly hit the crossbar.

Gyan's miss paved the way for a nerve-wracking penalty shoot-out. Despite displaying tremendous courage by taking the first spot-kick, Gyan's teammates John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah had their shots saved by Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

Sebastián Abreu then showed remarkable composure, delicately chipping the decisive penalty to secure Uruguay's place in the semi-finals against the Netherlands.

The match itself was a rollercoaster of emotions.

After a captivating 120 minutes of play, including extra time, the scores were level at 1-1. Uruguay dominated the early stages but suffered a setback when their captain Diego Lugano sustained an injury.

Just before halftime, Ghana took the lead through Sulley Muntari's strike from 40 yards, taking advantage of Uruguay's defensive lapse.

However, Diego Forlán's stunning free-kick from the left side of the field levelled the score in the second half, beating Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

Both teams had opportunities to secure victory, but with no further goals in regular time, the match proceeded to extra time.

In a pivotal moment, Suarez's blatant handball on the goal line denied Ghana a potential winner, resulting in his dismissal. Gyan's subsequent missed penalty added to the heartbreak for the African nation.

Following the game, Suarez's actions stirred controversy and divided opinions. He declared himself the saviour of the match, drawing comparisons to Diego Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal in 1986. While some criticized Suarez as a villain and a cheat, Uruguay's coach, Óscar Tabárez, defended his player's instinctive reaction, stating that Ghana's perceived injustice was too harsh of an assessment.

The loss of Ghana in the quarter-finals meant that Africa's hopes of a team reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time remained unfulfilled.

However, in 2022, Morocco defied all odds to become the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.

cool