2006 World Cup: Laryea Kingston Finally Reveals Why Ratomir Dujkovic Dropped Him

Ex-Ghana winger, Laryea Kingston has finally opened up on why Ratomir Dujkovic left him out of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

The former Hearts of Oak and Celtic star was one of the key members of the Black Stars during the qualification matches ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

However, Kingston was suspended for the first two games of the tournament, following a red card during the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ahead of the tournament, the then head coach of the Black Stars, Ratomir Dujkovic dropped him from his 23-man squad for the finals in Germany.

Speaking in an interview with Citi TV, Kingston revealed that the Serbian tactician took that decision because a lot of people did not have confidence that the team could reach the knockout stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

“Everyone knew I was going to miss the first two games if the suspension still stands, but I didn’t know I’ll be excluded from the World cup squad,” he said.

“Around that time, I was one of the core players in the team, so I wasn’t expecting to be excluded. I remember talking to the coach, Doya and he told me they didn’t have confidence in us making it to the next round because it was our first time at the World cup and since I had to miss the first 2 games, there was no point in me being part of the squad.

“For me, I think I worked tirelessly, I did my part, I was there to defend my country and I’m proud that I was part of the squad that qualified the country to her first World cup,” he concluded.

Ghana qualified from a very difficult group which had Italy, Czech Republic and the USA.

The West Africans however, exited from the competition after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil in the round of 16

Four years later, Kingston was excluded from the squad assembled by Milovan Rajevac for the World Cup in South Africa