Former Ghanaian international, Prince Tagoe has disclosed that it was the decision of Coach Milovan Rajevac for Stephen Appiah to take the spot kick against Uruguay in the quarter-finals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The Black Stars were close to securing a semi-final spot after a late penalty was awarded to Ghana, but Asamoah Gyan missed from the spot which meant the game ended to penalties after extra time as Ghana eventually lost 4-2 on penalties.
According to Tagoe, it was not the decision of Milovan to allow Gyan take the kick but rather Stephen Appiah, adding that Milovan Rajevac was late in conveying the message to Appiah which allowed Gyan to pick up the ball from him.
Speaking on Angel TV, Tagoe, a member of Ghana’s team at the Mundial said “I was on the bench and when we had the penalty, Coach Milo wanted Stephen Appiah to take it, however, he couldn’t ass the message on quickly before Gyan took the ball from him (Stephen Appiah)."
Prince Tagoe played a part in Ghana’s success in 2010 but the striker was deployed on the wings despite the centre-forward preferred position as head coach Milovan Rajevac decided to use Asamoah Gyan as the lone striker upfront.
He featured in all three group games but couldn’t impact games as expected of him and had to be replaced in the starting line up in the knockout games by Samuel Inkoom.