Former Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has revealed that his biggest regret was his decision not to take part in the penalty shootout against Cote d’Ivoire in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON].
The Black Stars, who were charged to ‘do well’ prior to the tournament by ex-Ghana Football Association president, Kwesi Nyantakyi under Avram Grant, took a two-goal lead during the penalty shootouts.
However, the Ivorians shockingly emerged as the winners of the tournament.
Ivory Coast were crowned champions as they beat Ghana 9-8 in a dramatic penalty shootout after a goalless 120 minutes in the final of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Gyan had excused himself from taking penalties for the national team following his costly misses against Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup and Zambia in the 2012 AFCON semifinal.
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The 36-year-old was substituted and was replaced by Emmanuel Agyemang Badu before the penalty shootout.
According to Gyan, his decision is something he later regrets.
“As captain, I’ll say it was in 2015 [AFCON] when I asked to be substituted against Ivory Coast in the final,” he said on Peace FM.
“I feel like if I was not substituted, I could’ve helped in the penalty shootout. But due to some things that were going on, I felt I needed to give the chance to another player.
“This was because I had excused myself from taking penalties. But there were a lot of things going on which led to me asking to be substituted. So I say that was one of my biggest regrets as a captain.”
