Playing a man down from the 74-minute mark after Aleksander Lukovic was booked for the second time, Serbia was holding Ghana's rejuvenated attack well in the first match of Group D play. That was until Andre Ayew's cross was batted down with the right hand of Serbia midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic, and Asamoah Gyan did not let a golden opportunity go to waste.
It was the first win by an African nation in the 2010 World Cup, producing pandemonium in Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Player of the Game
Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Serbia
Should Ghana advance out of Group D — and especially if Serbia fails to rebound from this opening loss — no one will forget Kuzmanovic's handball in the box. It's anyone's guess what he was thinking, flailing his arms and clearly redirecting the ball with his palm. Either way, it gave Ghana a penalty kick with six minutes to play, and it puts Serbia in a big hole.
Scoring Breakdown
The 2010 World Cup's first penalty kick was about as dramatic as they come, with Ghana's leader, Asamoah Gyan, stepping up in the 84th minute after a Serbia handball in the box and fooling goalkeeper Vladimir Stojakovic to put the Black Stars up 1-0. It was Ghana's only shot on goal the entire match, but Gyan made it count.
Notes
Ghana has won all three World Cup matches in which it has scored a goal. Fifty-seven percent of matches (4 of 7) in this World Cup have gone into halftime 0-0; the 2006 World Cup only saw 33 percent (21 of 64) do so. Aleksander Lukovic picked up a red card after earning his second yellow card in the 74th minute, meaning he missed the rest of the match and will sit out the next one. Zdravko Kuzmanovic was given a yellow card for his handball in the box and subsequent arguing, and Nikola Zigic also was booked for Serbia. Ghana had two yellow cards of its own: Prince Tagoe and Isaac Vorsah.
Next
Serbia will face group-favorite Germany on Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 a.m. (ET) at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Ghana battles Australia on Friday, Jun 19 at 10 a.m. inside Royal Bafokeng Stadium.
