Asamoah Gyan misses a penalty at the death which could have seen Ghana through

Africa’s footballing dream was shattered in a penalty shoot out after the most dramatic finish to any game at this World Cup saw Ghana blow a glorious opportunity to become the continent’s first ever semi-finalists.

With the score locked at 1-1 after a thrilling, open encounter, Asamoah Gyan missed a penalty for the Black Stars with the last kick of extra time, missing out on a once in a lifetime chance to set up a last four meeting with Holland in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Instead, it is Uruguay who reached their first semi-final for 40 years, winning the shoot out 4-2 after their captain, Sunderland’s John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah had their spot kicks saved by Fernando Muslera.

Maximiliano Pereira ballooned his kick for Uruguay but a cheeky dinked penalty from substitute Sebastian Abreu ensured the South American side booked their place.

For the evening, the Ghanaians must have felt as if they had been adopted by the whole of Africa.

“The story of the Black Stars has redeemed the image of Africa,” ANC chairwoman Baleka Mbete had said on the eve of the game. “On your shoulders rest the football dreams of mother Africa.”

Facing that sort of pressure, it felt hardly surprising that Milovan Rajevac’s men began falteringly, as opposed to their last-16 match against the United States when they burst into the lead after five minutes.

This time, they were bossed around for much of the first half-hour, with Forlan still looking every inch one of the players of the tournament.

Working from a deep-lying attacking postion, the former Manchester United man caused havoc each time he went roaming, his familiar combination play with Luis Suarez resulting in the Ajax striker breaking through a feeble challenge from Isaac Vorsah and shooting into Richard Kingson’s arms.

Kingson, recently released by Wigan after only playing four games for them in two seasons, has enjoyed an inspired World Cup and when Forlan’s whipped corner ended up being deflected off the chest of captain John Mensah, he made a superb instinct point-blank save.

Another grand save made at full stretch from a Suarez volley and a Forlan curler which sailed just wide suggested it was only a matter of time before the African side succumbed.

Then just as if a flick had been switched, Ghana came alive. A corner from the left was met by a rocket header from Vorsah which whistled just past the post.

It was just the wake up call they had needed.

Seconds later, Kevin-Prince Boateng, such a revelation at the tournament since he adopted the land of his father as his international football home, went surging forward, beat his man and, with a lovely low cross, had Asamoah Gyan shooting just a fraction wide.

Boateng’s feisty presence, everyone in the Black Stars’ camp is agreed, has given the team new-found bite and steel, and after Muntari headed wide, he offered new-found theatricality too, with his spectacular bicycle kick counting for nothing.

When Uruguay’s captain Diego Lugano had to be substituted before half-time with injury, it could hardly help their composure yet still Muntari’s goal seemed to explode from nowhere.

With no other available option 30 yards out, he eschewed the chance to pick out a teammate, turned and let a speculative skidder fly.

The din of 84,000 could have been heard in Accra as it hit the back of the net and Muntari, the Inter Milan midfielder who was almost sent home a fortnight earlier after a bust-up with coach Milovan Rajevac, had completed his transformation from sinner to saint.

To no-one’s surprise, it was Forlan who pulled Uruguay back into the match after the break. When John Pantsil hauled down Fucile on the left edge of the box, the Atletico Madrid man’s free kick bent one way then the other in a classic Jabulani jumble, leaving Kingson utterly baffled.

Forlan, with a 35 yard curling shot, and Suarez both came close afterwards as Uruguay enjoyed command of much of the second half.

Yet despite the open nature of the game even in extra time with the tireless, powerful Gyan never letting up on the Uruguayan defence and Boateng heading just wide, there was somehow an inevitability about the penalty denouement.

Then, astonishing last second drama. After the ball was pumped in from a corner, Dominic Adiyiah’s shot was punched off the line by Suarez but the striker was then given a red card when he punched Adiyiah’s follow up header off the line.

Yet, to his horror, Gyan’s penalty kick struck the crossbar and, even though he scored in the shoot out, the misery of Ghana’s best player was terrible to behold.