Mohammed Kudus says captain Andre Ayew’s early penalty miss was not the reason Ghana suffered another defeat at the hands of Uruguay at the 2022 World Cup on Friday.
For many Ghanaians, meeting La Celeste for the first time since the controversial loss 12 years ago was an opportunity to avenge the loss and advance to the Round of 16 of the ongoing Qatar tournament.
And the Black Stars were rewarded with a penalty in the 21st minute when Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet brought down Mohammed Kudus.
But Andre Ayew stepped up and saw his kick saved.
Following the miss, Uruguay took control and took advantage of the reprieve, scoring twice in six minutes with Luis Suarez setting up Giorgian De Arrascaeta for both goals.
Uruguay held on to clinch all three points but both countries crashed out of the Qatar World Cup.
Ghana’s penalty nightmare comes back haunting 12 years on
Speaking after the painful exit, Kudus refused to dwell on the inability of his skipper to make the penalty he won count.
“I don’t think the penalty miss by Andre Ayew was the key moment in the match. The easiest thing we can do is to blame one person,” the playmaker said.
Kudus continued: “In the second half I also got chances that I could have scored. It qualified as a penalty, too. We all had chances to have an effect on the game, so I don’t really think the penalty had an effect on the whole performance.”
“Andre is a great leader and a great captain. After the penalty miss, he was still in the game and stood up for the team like everyone did but the result went the other way so we learn from it and stay positive,” he added.
The miss by Andre Ayew makes Ghana the first country to fail to convert two penalties against a single opponent in World Cup history.
In the bitter defeat to the Uruguayans in South Africa 2010, Asamoah Gyan struck the upright in extra time, and now Ayew.
