Penalty misses scare Gyan from Ghana

Ghana and Al-Ain striker Asamoah Gyan still has penalty miss fears ringing in his mind after missing the spot at two crucial moments for his country.

The player missed a penalty at the 2010 World Cup. Scoring that penalty could have sent Ghana into the semi-finals of the competition making the country the first on the continent to achieve that feat.

His recent penalty miss was against Zambia at the semis of the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Gyan came under severe criticisms and unprintable words from Ghanaian football fanatics which has mentally demoralised him.

“I never fully recovered from 2010 World cup and now 2012 Afcon. Psychologically I am down. As you can imagine it’s been very hard for me mentally to miss two important successive penalties for my country,” Gyan said in an official statement cited by the Ghana FA’s website February 20, 2012.

Due to the incidents, Asamoah Gyan on February 18, 2012 announced his decision to take a temporal break from the Black Stars.

“…because of this a break to recoup my thoughts and emotions will aid me to come back bigger and mentally stronger,” the 26 year-old striker said.

Asamoah Gyan reiterated his commitment to the national team the Black Stars.

By Ekow Quandzie