Ghana head coach Otto Addo insists the Black Stars will not “seek revenge” against Uruguay when they collide in a repeat of their infamous 2010 World Cup quarter-final.
Following their narrow 3-2 win over South Korea on Monday, Addo’s side will seek their last-16 place with a victory over La Celeste in their final Group H match on Friday.
There will be added spice to the clash, which comes 12 years after their notorious last-eight clash in South Africa.
After Diego Forlan cancelled out Sulley Muntari’s earlier strike, Luis Suarez denied Ghana an extra-time winner when he handled Dominic Adiyiah’s goalbound header on the line.
Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent spot-kick, which was wildly celebrated by the dismissed Suarez, while Uruguay eventually advanced to the semi-finals after prevailing 4-2 on penalties.
But Addo insists that painful memory will not provide extra incentive for the Black Stars, who would have become the first African nation to reach the last four at the finals.
I’m a guy who doesn’t think too much in the past when this incident happened,” the coach said. “I’m a strong believer if you don’t seek revenge, you get even more blessings.
“It’s a different approach, a different team. [Uruguay] have very good strikers, lots of experience. They are very compact, very good. It will be very, very difficult, again.
We are a team that knows every game will be on the edge, we have to be at our best to beat them. But I’m confident enough to know we can win this game.”
source: livescore