ALL OVER They're out on their knees in Johannesburg, tears all round especially from Gyan who is bawling his eyes out. Horrible to watch but one small blue corner of Soccer City is going absolutely bananas. It had an air of inevitability about it, to be honest, after Gyan's miss. And it's that miss which will haunt Ghana for years to come - they had the semi final in the palm of their hand but blew it. And talk about rough justice - Gyan was one of the best players on the park and if it wasn't for him Ghana wouldn't even have made it this far in the tournament. Still, it's Uruguay's night and it could well be Uruguay's tournament, with a tasty semi against the Dutch to come. Full time in an emotional Soccer City Stadium, Uruguay 1 Ghana 1 (4-2 on pens).
122'
URUGUAY PEN 5 Substitute striker Sebastian Abreu to win it for Uruguay... it's there!!!! Daddy Cool from Abreu who chips it delicately right down the middle. Africa's dream dies but Uruguay are ecstatic.
122'
URUGUAY PEN 4 Up next to ram home the advantage is Maxi Perreira...but he skies it! Just as bad as Mensah's - it's into row Z. it remains Uruguay 3-2 Ghana.
122'
GHANA PEN 3 Captain John Mensah to make it 3-3... and it's saved. Awful, dreadful, miserable penalty. He took one pace and passed it to Muslera. Oh dear oh dear.
122'
URUGUAY PEN 3 Two centre backs have now scored for Uruguay. Scotti drills it down the middle. Uruguay 3-2 Ghana.
122'
GHANA PEN 2 Stephen Appiah steps up and again beats Muslera with a very good penalty. Muslera is close, but not close enough. Uruguay 2-2 Ghana.
122'
URUGUAY PEN 2 Victorino for the South Americans... and he blasts a scorcher into the roof of the net. Unsaveable.
122'
GHANA PENALTY 1 And here he is, bold as brass, courage of a lion - Asamoah Gyan. And he scores! Temporary redemption as he sends a perfect pen past Muslera's despairing dive.
122'
URUGUAY PEN 1 Diego Forlan steps up first and sends Kingson the wrong way. Cool penalty.
122'
MOMENTUM KEY? And if penalties are won by momentum, Uruguay are heading for the semi finals. They look buoyed while Ghana are rueful, knowing they should be in the semi finals already.
122'
HEROES IN WAITING Inspiring team talks being given by both managers as we speak. Fernando Muslera and Richard Kingson have the chance to make themselves a national hero for many years to come.
122'
GREAT SAVE Mind you Suarez may have already made the most important save of the night. His brilliant punch off the line denied Ghana a certain goal.
122'
INCONSOLABLE Well I've never seen anything like it. Will Gyan now step up to take a penalty in the shoot-out?? He looked inconsolable after that miss. And Suarez, one of Uruguay's premier penalty takers, is now off the field too.
122'
OFF THE BAR!!! Gyan has hit the bar! And that's full time!!! Indescribable drama in Johannesburg - the striker could have won the game with one kick but he powered the shot and Muslera had to do nothing.
121'
PENALTY!!!!! Oh my goodness me Ghana have won a penalty in the 121st minute of the World Cup quarter finals!!! The free kick has Uruguay all over the shop - Ghana smack two off the line and Suarez saves the second with his hand. Red card and a penalty! Unbelievable.
120'
FREE KICK Just seconds to go and Fucile has conceded a free kick on the right flank for Ghana. Pantsil is going to whip it in...
119'
CLAWED AWAY Boateng's left wing cross takes a wicked deflection and has to be clawed away from his near post by Muslera. Good reactions after 119 minutes of football.
119'
NOW OR NEVER It's now or never for Uruguay or Ghana. Looks like Ghana if anyone.
118'
BOATENG HEADER Heart in mouth time for Uruguay and for a second it looks like Boateng has scored. The long throw, from Pantsil, is flicked on to the Pompey midfielder who nods inches past the post. He's furious with himself, but it was a decent attempt under pressure.
118'
POOR Asamoah's delivery is awful but Abreu, at the near post, hits it straight behind. Abreu then nods the second one out for a throw in. Two poor deliveries.
117'
CORNER... It's Ghana on the attack but Uruguay have plenty of light blue shirts back. Fucile has to concede a corner though off the immensely hard working Gyan.
115'
DRAMA High drama in Johannesburg and nearly a laughable goal. Adiyiah plays inside for Gyan who, with his back to goal, tries to turn Scotti on the penalty spot. Scotti just - just - gets to the loose ball in time and nearly scoops it into his own net, before Victorino races back to whack clear.
114'
FORLAN SHOT Straight down the other end and Forlan whistles one past the post from the left of the box. He had team mates well placed and they're not too happy.
113'
CROWDED OUT Asamoah digs out Appiah with a long ball into the box. The Bologna man controls and touches again ala Bergkamp v Argentina in France '98, but is crowded out before he can shoot.
112'
GHANA PEN 4 Milan striker Adiyiah is next....and it's saved! Three missed in a row now. Just a bit wider than Mensah's but Muslera sticks out a hand. Uruguay can win it next.
112'
HALF HEARTED Half-hearted attack from Uruguay but nothing comes of it. Only eight minutes left and - commentator's curse alert - this has got penalties written all over it.
110'
GYAN HEADER Appiah finds Gyan at the near post with a decent cross but his flash header is off target.
109'
GREAT SCOTTI Pantsil floats a deep free kick into the box where Scotti nods clear.
107'
BRIGHTER Just like the first half of extra time, Ghana have started the brighter. Adiyiah advances down the left but finds only Muslera with his cross.
106'
NOT QUITE Gyan can't quite control a deep Asamoah cross. Otherwise he'd have a free shot on goal.
106'
SECOND HALF EXTRA TIME So what exactly is going to come between Ghana and Uruguay? Looks like it might have to be penalties, but both sides have the attacking qualities - and the will - to win this in extra time.
105'
HALF TIME And still it remains 1-1. Time to swap ends.
104'
DEFLECTED Lodeiro, who I have to admit I'd forgotten was even on the field such has been his contribution, tries to find Forlan with a dinked cross. It hits Mensah and swerves dangerously towards goal, but Kingson collects.
103'
PENALTY SHOUT Decent shout for a penalty as Abreu goes down under Pantsil's outstretched leg from a Uruguay cross. The ref is unmoved but I've seen plenty of them given. Uruguay can feel hard done by, although the appeals aren't too vociferous.
102'
FLAT Forlan's outswinger comes to nothing. It's gone a bit flat again in Johannesburg as the aching legs take their toll.
102'
TO THE MAXI Excellent attacking instincts from right back Maxi Pereira who bombs forward to win a corner.
100'
BACK ON Africa's premier striker is back on the field, and his team mates badly need a moment of inspiration from him.
98'
GYAN DOWN Gyan is down with a knock so everyone gets a minute to compose themselves.
95'
ASCENDANCY Ghana in the slight ascendancy at the start of the half. They're doing the pressing anyway, as Gyan fires a hopeful one wide.
93'
BOOKING John Mensah is booked for having a slanging match with the referee. Ghana's captain thinks he's being fouled from an attacking corner.
91'
EXTRA TIME The biggest 90 minutes in Ghana's footballing history is underway. Biggest for 40 years for Uruguay, too - basically this is hugely important.
90'
FULL TIME Nothing doing in injury time so we'll need 30 more minutes to try and separate Uruguay and Ghana. The tension-o-meter could be off the scale soon; there's a lot to lose.
90'
ADDED TIME Three minutes have been added on by the fourth official.
90'
CORNER Corner for Ghana but it's cleared.
89'
QUIET Quiet couple of minutes as both sides fail to do anything with possession. Extra time just one minute plus stoppages away.
87'
GHANA SUB Sully Muntari, who aside from his goal has been pretty poor tonight, is replaced by AC Milan striker Dominic Adiyiah.
85'
BLOCKED Ghana sit deep as Uruguay work it round their penalty area, but the most the South Americans can offer is a blocked Forlan shot. They're hanging on a bit here, the Black Stars.
83'
FUCILE SHOT Left back Fucile is in on the act now, drilling a low one into Kingson's arms. Uruguay committing plenty forward here; will it pay off?
82'
BREAK And suddenly Uruguay break from that corner, four on three. Right back Maxi Pereira is in possession and elects to shoot, firing over from 20 yards. Suarez, with all the drama of a Shakespeare classic, drops to his knees in horror at not receiving a pass.
81'
NO-MAN'S LAND Muslera is in no-man's land from a Muntari corner but his defenders save him. Neither keeper has fully covered himself in glory tonight.
80'
GREAT SPECTACLE The quality of football has been pretty lukewarm in Johannesburg but that takes nothing away from this game as a spectacle. It's been enthralling from the first minute and we've got a grandstand finish to come, one way or the other.
78'
SUAREZ CHANCE Uruguay definitely aren't sitting back, I'm here to report. Suarez glances a Forlan free kick towards the bottom corner and Kingson have to parry wide, before the Ajax striker is penalised from the resulting corner just as he's about to shoot.
78'
BOOKING Hans Sarpei drags down Suarez and sees yellow.
77'
STICK OR TWIST We're nearly in the nervous 80s here, so will Uruguay and/or Ghana stick or twist? Ghana seemed to settle for extra time against the US last time around and that worked out fine and dandy. Uruguay pushed for a late winner against South Korea and that did too....
76'
URUGUAY SUB The quiet Edinson Cavani is replaced up front by Sebastian Abreu.
74'
FORLAN STRIKE He tried it in the first half and Forlan has gone for it again, shooting with a 40-odd yard free kick, which bounces dangerously into the side netting.
74'
GHANA SUB Stephen Appiah replaces Samuel Inkoom in midfield for the Black Stars.
73'
OFF THE HOOK Schoolboy clearance from Victorino which is straight into Gyan's path, 30 yards out. He advances a touch before crashing a shot into Muslera's arms. Victorino duly breathes a sight of relief.
71'
SUAREZ SHOT Suarez v Kingson part 2...and this time it's personal. Well, not quite, although the Uruguayan must be getting a little peeved with these superb flying tip-over the bar saves. Nice one-touch stuff from the South Americans plays Suarez in, but his toe-poke from 10 yards isn't good enough.
69'
GYAN SHOT Gyan wins a free kick 30 yards out, takes it himself, and curls a commendable effort over the bar. He's no Forlan in the free kick stakes.
66'
PRESSURE Decent pressure from Ghana who haven't been the same since the goal. A cross has to be punched clear by Muslera before Boateng causes havoc in the box looking for a penalty. No dice, though - was a bit of a dive in truth.
63'
SIDE NETTING Very decent chance for Uruguay, very decent indeed. Forlan - one of the stars of this World Cup - whips in a devilish cross from the left and Luis Suarez volleys into the side netting at the back stick with Kingson nowhere. From six or so yards out, albeit from a tight-ish angle, he could have scored.
63'
ATTACKING Both sides are still attacking - for now. As extra time looms you wonder how longer than will remain the case. Suarez finds room on the right of the box but his cross straight at Kingson.
62'
FORTUNATE But fortunately for him Suarez fouls Sarpei as the ball comes in.
61'
CHEAP Kingson lets the tamest back pass of the night through his legs for the cheapest corner of the tournament.
60'
BOOKING Diego Perez is very deserving of a yellow card for an over-the-top scissor challenge on Asamoah.
59'
GYAN SHOT Asamoah Gyan definitely isn't jittery. He forces a diving low save from Muslera with a well-struck 18-yarder.
58'
DODGY HEADER A back-header from Pantsil just evades Suarez and finds the grateful hands of Kingson. Are Ghana jittery again?
55'
URUGUAY 1-1 GHANA Fabulous strike, absolutely stunning, from DIEGO FORLAN. From the resulting free kick, near the corner of the left side of the box, he fools Kingson into edging the other way with a swerving, crackerjack shot which has the keeper flailing. It's his third of the tournament and a thing of beauty.
54'
BOOKING John Pantsil sees yellow for a late challenge on Fucile.
54'
POOR PASS The counter nearly work from a Uruguay corner, but despite being four-on-two Boateng can't find a team mate with what is a poor pass.
52'
SUSPECT And Ghana are busy trying to catch them on the break. Scotti and Victorino appear suspect in the Uruguay defence.
51'
ERRATIC Uruguay are looking pretty erratic in midfield, starting to lose their shape. Is desperation creeping in already?
47'
NO PEN Forlan dinks for Cavani to chase into the box. He and Vorsah clash heels and the Uruguay man goes to ground. The referee says no penalty, and a slight touch on the ball from Vorsah seems to save him.
46'
SECOND HALF Livewire midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro, aged 21, has been thrown on in place of Alvaro Fernandez as Uruguay chase the game. We're back playing again in Johannesburg.
45'
HALF TIME And that's the last action of the half. A huddle for Ghana's players before they depart the stage. They're just 45 minutes from passing into legend.
45'
URUGUAY 0-1 GHANA Soccer City - and Africa - erupts! Unbelievable strike from SULLY MUNTARI and Ghana have the half time lead. He's all of 40, maybe even 45 yards, from goal and catches Fernando Muslera dozing and flat footed, curling a beauty into the bottom corner.
45'
JUST OVER Kevin-Prince Boateng nearly caps his fine tournament with a wondergoal, turning an acrobatic overhead kick just a couple of yards off target from a right-wing cross.
44'
AMBITIOUS Gyan goes for goal from range but doesn't quite catch it right. Muslera makes the save.
44'
HE'S OKAY Smelling salts and a slap round the chops later, Fucile is back with us.
42'
FUCILE DOWN Concern here at Fucile goes down very heavily, upside down infact with his head falling first. Looks like he's sparked right out.
39'
MUNTARI CHANCE A looped ball into the box is met by Muntari, who beats Pereira to the ball to head across goal and wide. Only one team attacking now.
38'
URUGUAY SUB With Uruguay under the cosh a bit the last thing they need is for their influential captain to depart injured. That's what's happened though - Diego Lugano off, Andres Scotti on.
34'
TOO STRONG Boateng, quiet up until now, is increasingly influential in Ghana's midfield. His pass through Uruguay's defence to lone frontman Gyan is only slightly too strong and Muslera collects.
31'
GYAN CHANCE If you thought if was noisy a minute ago, you should hear it now. Great move from Ghana, their first meaningful one of the game in a forthright attacking sense, from which Gyan sidefoots inches wide after Boateng found him with a low cross.
30'
BIG CHANCE The vuvuzela noise level reaches fever pitch as Ghana win a corner. Muntari sends it to the back stick where Vorsah, not picked up, could and perhaps should bury it from six yards. However, slightly off balance, he powers just past the post.
27'
LUGANO DOWN Captain Diego Lugano is down hurt from an awkward fall in that Uruguay corner.
26'
JUST OVER Awful defending - absolute basics not adhered to by Ghana. A throw in from the left reaches Suarez just outside the box and he turns and lashes a belter towards goal on the half volley. Kingson has to be at his best to tip over the bar, for a fruitless corner. Uruguay very close to taking what would be a deserved lead.
25'
FORLAN SHOT Cavani picks up a loose Ghana pass and feeds Forlan. He mis-controls but Uruguay keep possession and hand it back to the Atletico striker, who fires wildly past the post from 25 yards.
24'
WAITING TO CATCH LIGHT Still waiting for this one to catch light here. Ghana are struggling to piece together a meaningful attack in open play, while Uruguay are lacking movement up front.
21'
DANGEROUS Muntari's resulting inswinger, whipped from the right flank, hits Mensah but the defender can't direct the ball towards goal. It's all about the set pieces in Johannesburg.
20'
BOOKING Late tackle from Fucile and he's out of the semi final if Uruguay make it.
19'
GREAT HEADER! That all happened so quickly that it wasn't apparent until replays were shown that Mensah's diversion was saved by Kingson's head. He knew very little about it and was simply in the right place at the right time. Crucial.
18'
NEARLY IN Yet another attacking set piece for Uruguay and this one very nearly yields an opener. Forlan's inswinging corner whistles through a body of players and appears to come off Mensah. Kingson has to stick out a hand, purely on impulse, to keep the ball out.
14'
JITTERY Forlan over-hits a wide free kick but instead of catching the ball the jittery Kingson punches vertically into the air. It takes an age to come down again, but before it does the whistle has gone for a Suarez foul on the keeper. Well, I say a foul, he brushed Kingson's shoulder.
13'
NOT FAR OFF Uruguay aren't quite putting it together in the final third yet, but they're a decent pass away from opening up Ghana good and proper. The Africans need to take stock and keep it simple for a few minutes.
11'
SUAREZ SHOT Suarez showcases his attacking abilities, cutting in from the left before curling at Kingson. Didn't quite get the angle on it like he did against South Korea last weekend.
8'
FREE KICK Muntari swings a free kick in from the right flank. Cavani clears as far as Kwadwo Asamoah but he scuffs his long range shot, which dribbles wide.
6'
BETTER START The better start is certainly Uruguay's here. Ghana are timid, but it's very early days.
5'
CORNER Forlan wins a corner on the Uruguay left. He swings it in himself, but can't get it off the ground. Still, Vorsah has to clear away from the near post. Kingson looks very nervy to me.
3'
ACROSS GOAL Sudden break from Uruguay and Forlan sprays wide to Alvaro Fernandez on the right flank. His dangerous cross seems to deceive Richard Kingson in the Ghana goal, but curls away from the goalline and harmlessly to the far side of the pitch.
1'
SHOCK WIN Holland's shock win over Brazil earlier will have given all 22 of these players a huge boost - they no longer have the psychological barrier of the five-time winners between them and the World Cup final. The question is, will it lift them to greater heights or will the pressure just become too much?
1'
KICK OFF Ghana kick us off.
0'
ANTHEMS There may be about 90,000 people supporting Ghana in the stadium but only a handful of them know the words to the Ghana national anthem, mostly the players themselves. Kick off just a minute or two away now.
0'
FIFA BLURB Captains Diego Lugano and John Mensah read out a couple of FIFA blurbs about anti-discrimination before the anthems. Seriously, a great message and all, but let's get to the football!
0'
TEAMS OUT Incredible atmosphere at Soccer City - one of the best pre-match of the tournament so far - as the sides stroll purposefully out onto the pitch.
0'
GHANA LINE UP We already know the Uruguay line up, but here's the official Ghana XI which as expected includes both Asamoah Gyan and Kevin-Prince Boateng. Sully Muntari and Isaac Vorsah both slot into the side. Full line up: Kingson; Pantsil, Vorsah, Mensah, Sarpei; Inkoom, Annan, Muntari, Boateng; Asamoah; Gyan.
0'
PREDICTION Uruguay are the favourites but only a fool would write off Ghana with the majority of the 94,000 crowd - not to mention an entire continent - behind them. It's almost too tight to call, but the odds favour a Uruguay victory in extra time. Uruguay 3-2 Ghana.
0'
ONES TO WATCH Hotshot strikers Asamoah Gyan and Luis Suarez are really making names for themselves in South Africa. Both have three goals to their names and can expect big-money moves to one of Europe's top leagues to follow in the coming months. Behind them, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Diego Forlan have been pulling the strings.
0'
TOURNAMENT SO FAR After a cautious, drab goalless draw against France for starters, Uruguay came to life in a 3-0 demolition of hosts South Africa. Victories over Mexico (1-0) and South Korea (2-1) have followed. Ghana's progress has been less comfortable; they scraped through the group stages on goal difference (1-0 v Serbia, 1-1 v Australia, 0-1 v Germany) before impressively seeing off USA 2-1 in the last 16.
0'
THE REF Portuguese ref Olegario Manuel Bartolo Faustino Benquerenca (Ole for short) takes charge of this one. The 40 year-old is overseeing his third game of the tournament, having reffed Japan 1-0 Cameroon (two yellows) and Nigeria 2-2 South Korea (four yellows).
0'
STADIUM Soccer City hosts its final game before the final and its seventh of the tournament so far. Ghana will have bad memories of the 94,000 capacity stadium, having lost to Germany 1-0 in the group stages.
0'
EARLY TEAM NEWS Oscar Tabarez named his side on Wednesday. It doesn't include defender Diego Godin (thigh) who has a thigh injury or the dropped Alvaro Perreira; Mauricio Victorino and Alvaro Fernandez come in. Line up: Muslera; Fucile, Lugano, Victorino, Maxi Pereira; Perez, Arevalo, Fernandez; Forlan; Cavani, Suarez. Dede Ayew and Jonathan Mensah are suspended for Ghana, but Asamoah Gyan and Kevin-Prince Boateng are expected to be fit.
0'
INTRO If Uruguay is the distinguished, wise old great-grandfather of the greatest football spectacle on earth - the World Cup - then by proxy Ghana must be the exuberant, cheeky rapscallion. History has long weighed on Uruguay's shoulders but for once they're looking to the future; namely reaching their first World Cup semi final for 40 years, or even their first final for 60 years. As for Ghana, well they've already made history by reaching the quarter finals so they're in unknown territory. Win tonight and so too will be Africa.