Ghana's hopes of expunging the bitter World Cup memories of their last clash with Uruguay did not bear fruit on Friday as they were forced to relive the nightmare all over again in crashing out of the finals in Qatar.

Another squandered penalty against the South Americans, and a 2-0 defeat in their last Group H game, meant they let a commanding position slip and finished last in the standings.

Friday was supposed to be a chance to not only extract revenge but also book a place in the next round -- and set a new mark for African football, which has never had three teams advance past the first round at a single World Cup.

But where Morocco and Senegal succeeded in reaching the last 16, Ghana did not, even after being in second spot in the standings going into the final round of group games.

The country remains fixated on the drama of the 2010 quarter-final against Uruguay, when they came within a whisker of being the first Africans to reach the World Cup last four.