John Paintsil says Ghana would have beaten Netherlands and faced Spain in the 2010 World Cup final

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Former Ghana international John Paintsil has disclosed that the Black Stars would have beaten the Netherlands and faced Spain in the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Ghana reached the quarter-final of the competition after eliminating the United States of America in the Round of 16.

However, they were eliminated on penalties following a 1-1 draw, with Luis Suarez infamously blocking Dominic Adiyiah’s goalbound shot in extra-time before Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent spotkick.

“We were looking forward to playing the Netherlands because before the tournament, we played them in Holland and we tested them," Paintsil told Goal, referring to the Black Stars’ 4-1 friendly defeat ahead of the World Cup.

"So we knew their strengths and their weakness, and so for me, we would have gone to the final.

“We knew that we were going straight to the final, and we would have won the cup because at that time the confidence level was very high."

"We saw it as though no team could beat us after we defeated the United States," Paintsil added. "We didn’t think that any team could stand us, and we were going all out to perform against Uruguay.

"As for Holland, we knew them inside and out."

"Spain were a playing-ball team like us," Paintsil reminisced. "They didn’t play direct balls, they didn’t make silly tackles, they were a decent side and very disciplined, we were also very disciplined.

"We also liked passing the ball around, so that final would have been beautiful."