Asamoah Gyan discusses why Ghana lost 2010 AFCON to Egypt

Former Black Stars striker, Asamoah Gyan has offered insights into Ghana's loss of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title to Egypt.

Despite a challenging start, Ghana made an impressive journey to the final for the first time since 1992.

However, facing Egypt, the defending champions, in the final posed a formidable challenge. Gyan attributes Ghana's loss to a departure from their defensive strategy in earlier matches, which allowed Egypt to capitalize and secure victory with an 85th-minute goal.

“We were more defensive in 2010 with our setup. That’s why we embarked on a one-goal project. But we played proactively in the finals and we unfortunately lost.” he said on Onua TV.

Reflecting on the final match, Gyan expressed disappointment with a crucial substitution made by then-coach Milovan Rajevac during a crucial moment in the game. He described it as one of the most perplexing decisions in his career.

“I was pained because I predicted I would score. But when [the Egyptians] scored and were celebrating, I saw the No. 3 on the substitution board. It is one of the weirdest substitutions I have seen in my entire career.” he added.

Despite losing the final in 2010, Gyan's contributions to the team were significant, finishing the tournament with three goals.

Over his illustrious career, he accumulated 51 goals in 109 appearances for the Black Stars, becoming the nation's all-time leading scorer.

Having retired from professional football in June 2023, Gyan is now focusing on various off-field endeavours.