Ghanaian defender Samuel Inkoom has opened up on Asamoah Gyan and the then Black Stars skipper Stephen Appiah’s penalty drama in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Asamoah Gyan popularly known as “Baby Jet” was vilified by the Ghanaian public after failing to convert a crucial penalty with what was the last kick of the game during the 2010 World Cup quarter-final match against Uruguay in South Africa.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez gave away a last minute penalty by handling a Dominic Adiyiah strike which was destined for goal to deny the Black Stars from booking a semi-final berth.
Gyan unfortunately hit the crossbar with such a vicious attempt to send the match into a penalty shootout.
After the match which Ghana eventually lost in the penalty shootout, the former Sunderland striker was lambasted by Ghanaians across the globe for apparently snatching the ball from Stephen Appiah who was supposedly set to take the penalty kick.
However, Samuel Inkoom who was part of the team explained what really transpired on the pitch in an interview on Kumasi based radio station Fox FM.
“We had about four players who practiced a penalty shootout after we’re done training namely; Asamoah Gyan, Stephen Appiah, Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien.
He added, “I think Ghanaians criticized him because he missed the penalty because I remember he successfully converted the one against Serbia. When something goes wrong people criticize you and it’s a good thing but one terrible thing about it is that they single out one player which isn’t the best. In my opinion when Appiah took the ball he wasn’t ready to take the penalty he was looking for Asamoah Gyan”.