Former Ghana striker Prince Tagoe has revealed that the Black Stars squad paid little attention to criticism surrounding their cautious approach during the 2010 FIFA World Cup under head coach Milovan Rajevac.
Ghana produced one of the nation’s greatest performances at the global showpiece in South Africa, advancing to the quarterfinals and coming within a penalty kick of becoming the first African side to reach the semifinals of the tournament.
Despite the historic run, the team often faced criticism for what many observers labelled the “one-goal project,” a reference to Ghana’s tendency to grind out narrow victories rather than dominate matches with attacking football.
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Looking back on that period during an interview with Sporty FM, Tagoe explained that the players were largely unfazed by the outside noise, insisting that results and financial incentives were far more important within the camp.
“We didn’t really care about the criticisms of the one-goal project under Milovan Rajevac. At the end of the day, we were winning and taking our bonuses. The winning bonus was $10,000 at the time,” he said.
During the tournament, Ghana only scored more than one goal in a single match, their dramatic Round of 16 victory over the United States men’s national soccer team. The Black Stars triumphed 2-1 after extra time to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
Their group-stage campaign was built on defensive solidity and tactical discipline. Ghana edged Serbia national football team 1-0 in their opening match, shared the spoils with Australia national soccer team, and suffered a narrow defeat to Germany national football team but still progressed to the knockout stage.
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The journey ultimately came to a heartbreaking end in the quarterfinals against Uruguay national football team, a match forever etched in World Cup history. The encounter featured late drama, including a controversial handball on the goal line and a missed penalty that denied Ghana a historic semifinal appearance before they were eliminated in a penalty shootout.
