The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.

The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.

This article is about the World Cup history of one of the leading nations in African football, Ghana. Ghana have appeared in the finals of the World Cup on four occasions, in 2006, 2010 where they reached the quarter-finals, 2014 and in 2022.

Ghana have qualified for four FIFA World Cup tournaments; 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022.

In 2006 they were the only African side to advance to the Second round of 2006 FIFA World Cup and were the sixth nation in a row from Africa to progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup.^[1] Ghana had the youngest team in the FIFA World Cup 2006 with an average age of 23 years and 352 days,^[1] and were praised for their improving performance.^[2][3] FIFA ranked Ghana 13th out of the 32 countries who competed in the tournament.^[4]

In the 2010 World Cup, Ghana progressed beyond the group stages, and reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Uruguay. Ghana was defeated by Uruguay on penalties after Luis Suárez controversially handballed on the goal line deep into extra time, denying Ghana an almost certain winning goal.^[5] Had Ghana won their quarter final, they would have become the first African nation to progress to the semi-finals of the world cup. Of the 32 countries that participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, FIFA ranked Ghana 7th.^[6]

In the 2014 and 2022 World Cup, Ghana was eliminated in the group stage.

Ghana vs. Serbia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup group D match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria on 13 June 2010.

Ghana vs. Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match at Soccer City, Johannesburg on 2 July 2010.

FIFA World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962	Did not qualify
1966	Withdrew
1970	Did not qualify
1974
1978
1982	Withdrew
1986	Did not qualify
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006	Round of 16	13th	4	2	0	2	4	6
2010	Quarter-finals	7th	5	2	2	1	5	4
2014	Group stage	25th	3	0	1	2	4	6
2018	Did not qualify
2022	Group stage	24th	3	1	0	2	5	7
2026	To be determined
2030
2034
Total	Quarter-finals	4/22	15	5	3	7	18	23

World Cup	Round	Opponent	Score	Result	Venue	Ghana scorers
2006	Group E	Italy	0–2	L	Hanover	—
		Czech Republic	2–0	W	Cologne	A. Gyan, S. Muntari
		United States	2–1	W	Nuremberg	H. Draman, S. Appiah
	Round of 16	Brazil	0–3	L	Dortmund	—
2010	Group D	Serbia	1–0	W	Pretoria	A. Gyan
		Australia	1–1	D	Rustenburg	A. Gyan
		Germany	0–1	L	Johannesburg	—
	Round of 16	United States	2–1 (a.e.t.)	W	Rustenburg	K. P. Boateng, A. Gyan
	Quarter-finals	Uruguay	1–1 (a.e.t.) p. 2–4	D	Johannesburg	S. Muntari
2014	Group G	United States	1–2	L	Natal	A. Ayew
		Germany	2–2	D	Fortaleza	A. Ayew, A. Gyan
		Portugal	1–2	L	Brasília	A. Gyan
2022	Group H	Portugal	2–3	L	Doha	A. Ayew, O. Bukari
		South Korea	3–2	W	Al Rayyan	M. Salisu, M. Kudus (2)
		Uruguay	0–2	L	Al Wakrah	—

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Australia	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	000.00
Czech Republic	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Germany	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Italy	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Portugal	2	0	0	2	3	5	−2	000.00
Serbia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
South Korea	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	100.00
United States	3	2	0	1	5	4	+1	066.67
Uruguay	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Total	15	5	3	7	18	23	−5	033.33

Head coach: Ratomir Dujković

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
1	1GK	Sammy Adjei	(1980-09-01)1 September 1980 (aged 25)	31	F.C. Ashdod
2	3MF	Hans Sarpei	(1976-06-28)28 June 1976 (aged 29)	7	VfL Wolfsburg
3	4FW	Asamoah Gyan	(1985-11-22)22 November 1985 (aged 20)	13	Udinese[7]
4	2DF	Samuel Kuffour	(1976-09-03)3 September 1976 (aged 29)	58	Roma
5	2DF	John Mensah	(1982-11-29)29 November 1982 (aged 23)	33	Rennes
6	2DF	Emmanuel Pappoe	(1981-03-03)3 March 1981 (aged 25)	27	Hapoel Kfar Saba
7	2DF	Illiasu Shilla	(1982-10-26)26 October 1982 (aged 23)	2	Asante Kotoko
8	3MF	Michael Essien	(1982-12-03)3 December 1982 (aged 23)	17	Chelsea
9	3MF	Derek Boateng	(1983-05-02)2 May 1983 (aged 23)	11	AIK
10	3MF	Stephen Appiah (c)	(1980-12-24)24 December 1980 (aged 25)	42	Fenerbahçe
11	3MF	Sulley Muntari	(1984-08-27)27 August 1984 (aged 21)	16	Udinese
12	4FW	Alex Tachie-Mensah	(1977-02-15)15 February 1977 (aged 29)	5	St. Gallen
13	2DF	Habib Mohamed	(1983-12-10)10 December 1983 (aged 22)	1	King Faisal Babes
14	4FW	Matthew Amoah	(1980-10-24)24 October 1980 (aged 25)	16	Borussia Dortmund
15	3MF	John Paintsil	(1981-06-15)15 June 1981 (aged 24)	21	Hapoel Tel Aviv
16	1GK	George Owu	(1982-06-17)17 June 1982 (aged 23)	6	Ashanti Gold
17	2DF	Daniel Quaye	(1980-12-25)25 December 1980 (aged 25)	7	Hearts of Oak
18	2DF	Eric Addo	(1978-11-12)12 November 1978 (aged 27)	6	PSV Eindhoven
19	4FW	Razak Pimpong	(1982-12-30)30 December 1982 (aged 23)	4	Copenhagen
20	4FW	Otto Addo	(1975-06-09)9 June 1975 (aged 31)	13	Mainz 05
21	2DF	Issah Ahmed	(1982-05-24)24 May 1982 (aged 24)	10	Randers
22	1GK	Richard Kingson	(1978-06-13)13 June 1978 (aged 27)	33	Ankaraspor
23	3MF	Haminu Dramani	(1986-04-01)1 April 1986 (aged 20)	7	Red Star Belgrade[8]

12 June 2006

21:00

Italy	2–0	Ghana
Pirlo 40' Iaquinta 83'	Report

FIFA WM Stadion Hannover, Hanover

Attendance: 43,000

Referee: Carlos Simon (Brazil)

Italy

Ghana

GK 1 Gianluigi Buffon RB 2 Cristian Zaccardo CB 13 Alessandro Nesta CB 5 Fabio Cannavaro (c) LB 3 Fabio Grosso DM 21 Andrea Pirlo RM 20 Simone Perrotta LM 4 Daniele De Rossi  10' AM 10 Francesco Totti  56' CF 11 Alberto Gilardino  64' CF 9 Luca Toni  82' Substitutions: MF 16 Mauro Camoranesi  62'  56' FW 15 Vincenzo Iaquinta  88'  64' FW 7 Alessandro Del Piero  82' Manager: Marcello Lippi

GK 22 Richard Kingson RB 15 John Paintsil CB 4 Samuel Kuffour CB 5 John Mensah LB 6 Emmanuel Pappoe  46' RM 18 Eric Addo CM 8 Michael Essien CM 10 Stephen Appiah (c) LM 11 Sulley Muntari  41' CF 14 Matthew Amoah  68' CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  65'  89' Substitutions: DF 7 Illiasu Shilla  46' FW 19 Razak Pimpong  68' FW 12 Alex Tachie-Mensah  89' Manager: Ratomir Dujković

Wikinews has related news:

• Italy shut out Ghana for 2-0 win in Group E

Asamoah Gyan opened the scoring with a low left footed shot to the net from the edge of the penalty area. Gyan then missed a penalty in the second half when he hit his shot against the post in the 66th minute. Sulley Muntari got the second goal for Ghana in the 82nd minute, finishing a move with a left footed shot to the roof of the net from inside the penalty area.

17 June 2006

18:00

Czech Republic	0–2	Ghana
	Report	Gyan 2' Muntari 82'

FIFA WM Stadion Köln, Cologne

Attendance: 45,000

Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)

Czech Republic

Ghana

GK 1 Petr Čech RB 2 Zdeněk Grygera CB 21 Tomáš Ujfaluši  65' CB 22 David Rozehnal LB 6 Marek Jankulovski DM 4 Tomáš Galásek (c)  46' RM 8 Karel Poborský  56' CM 10 Tomáš Rosický CM 11 Pavel Nedvěd LM 20 Jaroslav Plašil  68' CF 12 Vratislav Lokvenc  49' Substitutions: MF 19 Jan Polák  46' MF 17 Jiří Štajner  56' FW 7 Libor Sionko  68' Manager: Karel Brückner

GK 22 Richard Kingson RB 15 John Paintsil CB 5 John Mensah CB 7 Illiasu Shilla LB 13 Habib Mohamed  90+3' RM 20 Otto Addo  18'  46' CM 8 Michael Essien  37' CM 10 Stephen Appiah (c) LM 11 Sulley Muntari  84' CF 14 Matthew Amoah  80' CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  66'  85' Substitutions: MF 9 Derek Boateng  75'  46' MF 18 Eric Addo  80' FW 19 Razak Pimpong  85' Manager: Ratomir Dujković

Wikinews has related news:

• Ghana surge past Czech Republic in Group E

Ghana opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Haminu Draman curled a low right footed shot past the goalkeeper from the left of the penalty area. The winning goal for Ghana was a penalty at the end of the first half which Stephen Appiah shot high right footed to the goalkeepers right.

22 June 2006

16:00

Ghana	2–1	United States
Draman 22' Appiah 45+2' (pen.)	Report	Dempsey 43'

FIFA WM Stadion Nürnberg, Nuremberg

Attendance: 41,000

Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

Ghana

United States

GK 22 Richard Kingson RB 15 John Paintsil CB 5 John Mensah  81' CB 7 Illiasu Shilla  32' LB 13 Habib Mohamed DM 8 Michael Essien  5' RM 9 Derek Boateng  46' LM 23 Haminu Draman  80' AM 10 Stephen Appiah (c)  90+1' CF 14 Matthew Amoah  59' CF 19 Razak Pimpong Substitutions: MF 20 Otto Addo  46' MF 18 Eric Addo  59' FW 12 Alex Tachie-Mensah  80' Manager: Ratomir Dujković

GK 18 Kasey Keller RB 6 Steve Cherundolo  61' CB 13 Jimmy Conrad CB 22 Oguchi Onyewu LB 3 Carlos Bocanegra DM 10 Claudio Reyna (c)  40' RM 8 Clint Dempsey LM 7 Eddie Lewis  7'  74' AM 21 Landon Donovan CF 17 DaMarcus Beasley CF 20 Brian McBride Substitutions: MF 14 Ben Olsen  40' FW 9 Eddie Johnson  61' MF 15 Bobby Convey  74' Manager: Bruce Arena

Wikinews has related news:

• Ghana beat United States of America 2-1 in Group E

27 June 2006

17:00

Brazil	3–0	Ghana
Ronaldo 5' Adriano 45+1' Zé Roberto 84'	Report

FIFA WM-Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund

Attendance: 65,000

Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia)

Brazil

Ghana

GK 1 Dida RB 2 Cafu (c) CB 3 Lúcio CB 4 Juan  44' LB 6 Roberto Carlos CM 5 Emerson  46' CM 11 Zé Roberto AM 8 Kaká  83' AM 10 Ronaldinho CF 7 Adriano  13'  61' CF 9 Ronaldo Substitutions: MF 17 Gilberto Silva  46' MF 19 Juninho  61' MF 20 Ricardinho  83' Manager: Carlos Alberto Parreira

GK 22 Richard Kingson RB 15 John Paintsil  29' CB 5 John Mensah CB 7 Illiasu Shilla LB 6 Emmanuel Pappoe RM 11 Sulley Muntari  11' CM 10 Stephen Appiah (c)  7' CM 18 Eric Addo  38'  60' LM 23 Haminu Dramani CF 14 Matthew Amoah  70' CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  48'  81' Substitutions: MF 9 Derek Boateng  60' FW 12 Alex Tachie-Mensah  70' Manager: Ratomir Dujković

Wikinews has related news:

• Brazil knock-out Ghana 3-0 to grab quarter-final place

Coach: Milovan Rajevac

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
1	1GK	Daniel Adjei	(1989-11-10)10 November 1989 (aged 20)	2	Liberty Professionals
2	2DF	Hans Sarpei	(1976-06-28)28 June 1976 (aged 33)	23	Bayer Leverkusen
3	4FW	Asamoah Gyan	(1985-11-22)22 November 1985 (aged 24)	32	Rennes
4	2DF	John Paintsil	(1981-06-15)15 June 1981 (aged 28)	65	Fulham
5	2DF	John Mensah (c)	(1982-11-29)29 November 1982 (aged 27)	58	Sunderland
6	3MF	Anthony Annan	(1986-07-21)21 July 1986 (aged 23)	38	Rosenborg
7	2DF	Samuel Inkoom	(1989-08-22)22 August 1989 (aged 20)	15	Basel
8	2DF	Jonathan Mensah	(1990-07-13)13 July 1990 (aged 19)	3	Granada
9	3MF	Derek Boateng	(1983-04-02)2 April 1983 (aged 27)	19	Getafe
10	3MF	Stephen Appiah	(1980-12-24)24 December 1980 (aged 29)	56	Bologna
11	3MF	Sulley Muntari	(1984-08-27)27 August 1984 (aged 25)	52	Internazionale
12	4FW	Prince Tagoe	(1986-11-09)9 November 1986 (aged 23)	17	1899 Hoffenheim
13	3MF	André Ayew	(1989-12-17)17 December 1989 (aged 20)	15	Arles-Avignon
14	4FW	Matthew Amoah	(1980-10-24)24 October 1980 (aged 29)	31	NAC
15	2DF	Isaac Vorsah	(1988-06-21)21 June 1988 (aged 21)	6	1899 Hoffenheim
16	1GK	Stephen Ahorlu	(1989-05-10)10 May 1989 (aged 21)	0	Heart of Lions
17	2DF	Abdul Rahim Ayew	(1988-04-16)16 April 1988 (aged 22)	6	Zamalek
18	4FW	Dominic Adiyiah	(1989-11-29)29 November 1989 (aged 20)	4	Milan
19	2DF	Lee Addy	(1985-09-26)26 September 1985 (aged 24)	3	Bechem Chelsea
20	3MF	Quincy Owusu-Abeyie	(1986-04-15)15 April 1986 (aged 24)	12	Al-Sadd
21	3MF	Kwadwo Asamoah	(1988-09-09)9 September 1988 (aged 21)	29	Udinese
22	1GK	Richard Kingson	(1978-06-13)13 June 1978 (aged 31)	58	Wigan Athletic
23	3MF	Kevin-Prince Boateng	(1987-03-06)6 March 1987 (aged 23)	0	Portsmouth

Asamoah Gyan scored only goal of the game came in the 85th minute from the penalty spot, shooting to the goalkeepers right after a handball offence by Zdravko Kuzmanovic.

13 June 2010

16:00

Serbia	0–1	Ghana
	Report	Gyan 85' (pen.)

Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria

Attendance: 38,833

Referee: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)^[9]

Serbia[10]

Ghana[10]

GK 1 Vladimir Stojković RB 6 Branislav Ivanović CB 13 Aleksandar Luković  54'  74' CB 5 Nemanja Vidić LB 3 Aleksandar Kolarov CM 11 Nenad Milijaš  62' CM 10 Dejan Stanković (c) RW 17 Miloš Krasić LW 14 Milan Jovanović  76' SS 9 Marko Pantelić CF 15 Nikola Žigić  19'  69' Substitutions: MF 22 Zdravko Kuzmanović  83'  62' FW 8 Danko Lazović  69' DF 20 Neven Subotić  76' Manager: Radomir Antić

GK 22 Richard Kingson RB 4 John Paintsil CB 15 Isaac Vorsah  26' CB 5 John Mensah (c) LB 2 Hans Sarpei CM 6 Anthony Annan CM 23 Kevin-Prince Boateng  90+1' RW 12 Prince Tagoe  89' AM 21 Kwadwo Asamoah  73' LW 13 André Ayew CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  90+3' Substitutions: MF 10 Stephen Appiah  73' DF 19 Lee Addy  90+1' MF 20 Quincy Owusu-Abeyie  90+3' Manager: Milovan Rajevac

Asamoah Gyan scored the equalizer for Ghana in the 25th minute from the penalty spot, shooting low to the goalkeepers left after a handball by Harry Kewell on the goal-line for which he was shown a straight red card.

19 June 2010

16:00

Ghana	1–1	Australia
Gyan 25' (pen.)	Report	Holman 11'

Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

Attendance: 34,812

Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)

Ghana[11]

Australia[11]

GK 22 Richard Kingson (c) RB 4 John Paintsil CB 8 Jonathan Mensah  79' CB 19 Lee Addy  40' LB 2 Hans Sarpei DM 6 Anthony Annan  84' CM 23 Kevin-Prince Boateng  87' RW 12 Prince Tagoe  56' AM 21 Kwadwo Asamoah  77' LW 13 André Ayew CF 3 Asamoah Gyan Substitutions: MF 20 Quincy Owusu-Abeyie  56' MF 11 Sulley Muntari  77' FW 14 Matthew Amoah  87' Manager: Milovan Rajevac

GK 1 Mark Schwarzer RB 8 Luke Wilkshire  84' CB 2 Lucas Neill (c) CB 3 Craig Moore  85' LB 21 David Carney CM 5 Jason Culina CM 16 Carl Valeri RW 7 Brett Emerton AM 14 Brett Holman  68' LW 23 Mark Bresciano  66' CF 10 Harry Kewell  24' Substitutions: DF 11 Scott Chipperfield  66' FW 9 Joshua Kennedy  68' FW 17 Nikita Rukavytsya  84' Manager: Pim Verbeek

23 June 2010

20:30

Ghana	0–1	Germany
	Report	Özil 60'

Soccer City, Johannesburg

Attendance: 83,391

Referee: Carlos Simon (Brazil)

Ghana[12]

Germany[12]

GK 22 Richard Kingson RB 4 John Paintsil CB 5 John Mensah (c) CB 8 Jonathan Mensah LB 2 Hans Sarpei DM 6 Anthony Annan CM 23 Kevin-Prince Boateng CM 21 Kwadwo Asamoah RW 12 Prince Tagoe  64' LW 13 André Ayew  40'  90+2' CF 3 Asamoah Gyan  82' Substitutions: MF 11 Sulley Muntari  64' FW 14 Matthew Amoah  82' FW 18 Dominic Adiyiah  90+2' Manager: Milovan Rajevac

GK 1 Manuel Neuer RB 16 Philipp Lahm (c) CB 17 Per Mertesacker CB 3 Arne Friedrich LB 20 Jérôme Boateng  73' CM 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger  81' CM 6 Sami Khedira RW 13 Thomas Müller  43'  67' AM 8 Mesut Özil LW 10 Lukas Podolski CF 19 Cacau Substitutions: MF 15 Piotr Trochowski  67' MF 2 Marcell Jansen  73' MF 18 Toni Kroos  81' Manager: Joachim Löw

United States vs Ghana was played on 26 June 2010 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. The match was watched by 19 million Americans, making it the most watched association football match in American television history.^[13] The match was won by Ghana in extra time, after Asamoah Gyan broke a 1–1 deadlock. Kevin-Prince Boateng scored the opening goal of the match for Ghana in the 5th minute. The goal followed an error by Ricardo Clark, who lost the ball to Ghana in midfield. Boateng took the ball to the edge of the penalty area, beating US goalkeeper Tim Howard with a low left foot shot. Landon Donovan equalised with a penalty kick in the 62nd minute, awarded after Jonathan Mensah fouled Clint Dempsey. The US had chances to win the game thereafter, but they were unable to get past Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson. The match thus went to extra time. In the third minute, Gyan latched onto a high long ball, chesting it down and holding off two defenders before scoring the winner.^[14] After the match, Ghana's coach Milovan Rajevac hailed his side's achievement in becoming one of the "best eight teams in the world", but regretted the number of players that would miss the quarter-final against Uruguay because of injury or suspension.^[15] The president of the Soccer Federation, Sunil Gulati, lamented the team's failure to make the quarter-finals and thereby further raise the profile of the sport in the US.^[16]

26 June 2010

20:30

United States	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Ghana
Donovan 62' (pen.)	Report	Boateng 5' Gyan 93'

Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

Attendance: 34,976

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

United States[17]

Ghana[17]

GK 1 Tim Howard RB 6 Steve Cherundolo  18' CB 15 Jay DeMerit CB 3 Carlos Bocanegra (c)  68' LB 12 Jonathan Bornstein CM 4 Michael Bradley CM 13 Ricardo Clark  7'  31' RW 8 Clint Dempsey LW 10 Landon Donovan CF 17 Jozy Altidore  91' CF 20 Robbie Findley  46' Substitutions: MF 19 Maurice Edu  31' MF 22 Benny Feilhaber  46' FW 9 Herculez Gomez  91' Manager: Bob Bradley

GK 22 Richard Kingson CB 4 John Paintsil CB 5 John Mensah (c) CB 8 Jonathan Mensah  61' RWB 7 Samuel Inkoom  113' LWB 2 Hans Sarpei  73' CM 6 Anthony Annan CM 23 Kevin-Prince Boateng  78' RW 21 Kwadwo Asamoah LW 13 André Ayew  90+2' CF 3 Asamoah Gyan Substitutions: DF 19 Lee Addy  73' MF 10 Stephen Appiah  78' MF 11 Sulley Muntari  113' Manager: Milovan Rajevac

Uruguay and Ghana met on 2 July 2010 at Soccer City, Johannesburg for a place in the semi-final against the Netherlands. It was the first time that the teams had ever played each other in a senior competitive football match. After a dramatic 120 minutes of play (including extra time) that finished 1–1, Uruguay won in a penalty shoot-out 4–2.^[18] Uruguay dominated the early periods of the match, but suffered an injury to captain Diego Lugano in the first half. Just before half-time, Ghana took the lead when Sulley Muntari was allowed time on the ball by Uruguay, and took advantage by scoring with a shot from 40 yards. After half-time, Diego Forlán pulled Uruguay level with a free kick from the left side of the field that went over the head of Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson. While both teams had chances to win, the match proceeded to extra time as the scores remained level. Late in extra time, Ghana sent a free kick into the box; Luis Suárez blocked Stephen Appiah's shot on the goal line.^[19] On the rebound, Dominic Adiyiah's header was heading into the goal, but Suárez blatantly blocked the shot with his hands^[20] to save what would have been the extra-time winner^[21] and he was red carded. Asamoah Gyan missed the ensuing penalty kick off the crossbar^[19] and Suárez celebrated the miss.^[22][23] In the shootout, Gyan converted his penalty,^[21] as did everybody else until the 4th round of penalty kicks when Adiyiah's penalty was saved by Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Uruguay's Maxi Pereira then hit his penalty kick over the bar. Muslera saved Captain John Mensah's, and Ghana's fifth, penalty.^[18] Sebastián Abreu converted Uruguay's fifth spot kick by lightly chipping it Panenka-style to win the match.^[24] After the game, Suárez said, "I made the save of the tournament,"^[21] and, referring to the infamous handball goal scored by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup, claimed that "The 'Hand of God' now belongs to me." Suárez claimed he had no alternative and was acting out of instinct.^[25] Forlán agreed that Suárez saved the game, "Suárez this time, instead of scoring goals, he saved one, I think he saved the game.^[21] Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac said the play was an "injustice"^[22] and Suárez was labeled a "villain"^[25][26] and a "cheat".^[20][27] But Uruguay coach, Óscar Tabárez, said these labels were too harsh, "Well, there was a handball in the penalty area, there was a red card and Suárez was thrown out. Saying that Ghana were cheated out of the game is too harsh. We have to go by the rules. It might have been a mistake by my player but I do not like that word ‘cheating’."^[28] Ghana was the last African team left in the tournament and if they had won, they would have been the first team from Africa to ever make the semifinals.^[29] But others viewed him as a hero^[20][30] who sacrificed himself in the semifinal for the unlikely chance that his team could win.^[27][31] A distraught Gyan conceded, "I would say Suárez is a hero now in his own country, because the ball was going in and he held it with his hand. He is a hero now."^[29]

2 July 2010

20:30

Uruguay	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Ghana
Forlán 55'	Report	Muntari 45+2'
Penalties
Forlán Victorino Scotti M. Pereira Abreu	4–2	Gyan Appiah Mensah Adiyiah

Soccer City, Johannesburg

Attendance: 84,017

Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)

Uruguay[32]

Ghana[32]

GK 1 Fernando Muslera RB 16 Maxi Pereira CB 2 Diego Lugano (c)  38' CB 6 Mauricio Victorino LB 4 Jorge Fucile  20' RM 20 Álvaro Fernández  46' CM 15 Diego Pérez  59' CM 17 Egidio Arévalo Ríos  48' LM 7 Edinson Cavani  76' CF 9 Luis Suárez  120+1' CF 10 Diego Forlán Substitutions: DF 19 Andrés Scotti  38' MF 14 Nicolás Lodeiro  46' FW 13 Sebastián Abreu  76' Manager: Óscar Tabárez

GK 22 Richard Kingson RB 4 John Paintsil  54' CB 15 Isaac Vorsah CB 5 John Mensah (c)  93' LB 2 Hans Sarpei  77' DM 6 Anthony Annan RM 7 Samuel Inkoom  74' CM 21 Kwadwo Asamoah CM 23 Kevin-Prince Boateng LM 11 Sulley Muntari  88' CF 3 Asamoah Gyan Substitutions: MF 10 Stephen Appiah  74' FW 18 Dominic Adiyiah  88' Manager: Milovan Rajevac

Head coach: James Kwesi Appiah

The final squad was announced on 1 June 2014.^[33] On 26 June 2014, midfielders Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng were sent home and indefinitely suspended from the national team for disciplinary reasons.^[34][35]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
1	1GK	Stephen Adams	(1989-09-28)28 September 1989 (aged 24)	7	Aduana Stars
2	2DF	Samuel Inkoom	(1989-06-01)1 June 1989 (aged 25)	46	Platanias[36]
3	4FW	Asamoah Gyan (c)	(1985-11-22)22 November 1985 (aged 28)	79	Al-Ain
4	2DF	Daniel Opare	(1990-10-18)18 October 1990 (aged 23)	16	Standard Liège[37]
5	3MF	Michael Essien	(1982-12-03)3 December 1982 (aged 31)	57	Milan
6	3MF	Afriyie Acquah	(1992-01-05)5 January 1992 (aged 22)	5	Parma
7	3MF	Christian Atsu	(1992-01-10)10 January 1992 (aged 22)	23	Vitesse[38]
8	3MF	Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu	(1990-12-02)2 December 1990 (aged 23)	49	Udinese
9	4FW	Kevin-Prince Boateng	(1987-03-06)6 March 1987 (aged 27)	13	Schalke 04
10	3MF	André Ayew	(1989-12-17)17 December 1989 (aged 24)	49	Marseille
11	3MF	Sulley Muntari	(1984-08-27)27 August 1984 (aged 29)	82	Milan
12	1GK	Adam Kwarasey	(1987-12-12)12 December 1987 (aged 26)	21	Strømsgodset
13	4FW	Jordan Ayew	(1991-09-11)11 September 1991 (aged 22)	13	Sochaux[39]
14	3MF	Albert Adomah	(1987-12-13)13 December 1987 (aged 26)	15	Middlesbrough
15	2DF	Rashid Sumaila	(1992-12-18)18 December 1992 (aged 21)	6	Mamelodi Sundowns
16	1GK	Fatau Dauda	(1985-04-06)6 April 1985 (aged 29)	18	Orlando Pirates
17	3MF	Mohammed Rabiu	(1989-12-31)31 December 1989 (aged 24)	17	Kuban Krasnodar
18	4FW	Majeed Waris	(1991-09-19)19 September 1991 (aged 22)	13	Valenciennes[40]
19	2DF	Jonathan Mensah	(1990-07-13)13 July 1990 (aged 23)	27	Evian
20	3MF	Kwadwo Asamoah	(1988-12-09)9 December 1988 (aged 25)	62	Juventus
21	2DF	John Boye	(1987-04-23)23 April 1987 (aged 27)	30	Rennes
22	3MF	Mubarak Wakaso	(1990-07-25)25 July 1990 (aged 23)	17	Rubin Kazan
23	2DF	Harrison Afful	(1986-06-24)24 June 1986 (aged 27)	41	Espérance

16 June 2014

19:00

Ghana	1–2	United States
A. Ayew 82'		Dempsey 1' Brooks 86'

Arena das Dunas, Natal

Attendance: 51,081

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

22 June 2014

16:00

Germany	2–2	Ghana
Götze 51' Klose 71'		A. Ayew 54' Gyan 63'

Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza

Attendance: 59,481

Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)

26 June 2014

13:00

Portugal	2–1	Ghana
Boye 31' (o.g.) Ronaldo 80'		Gyan 57'

Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília

Attendance: 67,540

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	South Korea	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
3	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
4	Ghana	3	1	0	2	5	7	−2	3

24 November 2022 (2022-11-24)

19:00

Portugal	3–2	Ghana
Ronaldo 65' (pen.) Félix 78' Leão 80'	Report	A. Ayew 73' Bukari 89'

Stadium 974, Doha

Attendance: 42,662

Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)

28 November 2022 (2022-11-28)

16:00

South Korea	2–3	Ghana
Cho Gue-sung 58', 61'	Report	Salisu 24' Kudus 34', 68'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 43,983

Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

2 December 2022 (2022-12-02)

18:00

Ghana	0–2	Uruguay
	Report	De Arrascaeta 26', 32'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 43,443

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

• African nations at the FIFA World Cup
• Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations