Friday, Jun. 25, 2010
When Defeat Becomes Victory
Barring a cricket score by Ivory Coast against North Korea on Friday, it looks as if Ghana will be the only African nation, of the six that took part in the World Cup, to make it to the second round. And its passage was confirmed despite losing its final group game to Germany (Ghana still finished second). But the real moment of joy came a week earlier, when striker Asamoah Gyan's penalty kick five minutes from time resulted in the first-ever African team to triumph on African soil in a World Cup. You can tell from their outpouring of joy that the players realized what a special moment it was. The only question now is whether the U.S. can avenge its 2006 defeat at the hands of the Ghanaians in their knockout clash on Saturday.