No. 3 is my favorite number
Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan was sporting a stylish hairstyle before his team's matchup against the U.S., with a blonde No. 3 dyed into the right side of his head.
Coincidentally, Ghana will be trying to beat the Americans for the third straight time at the World Cup on Monday, following victories in 2006 and 2010 that sent the U.S. home.
Gyan has worn the No. 3 on his head before. It's also his jersey number, which had been handed over to him by older brother Baffour, a former national team player and his role model.
"It's my favorite number," Gyan said. "It's a powerful number."
DESERVING SHAQIRI?
When a player wins a man of the match award at the World Cup, he's usually showered with a mixture of adulation and congratulations by the media.
Not so Xherdan Shaqiri, Switzerland's squat playmaker.
"Do you really think you deserved to be man of the match?" was the first question directed to Shaqiri in his news conference after Switzerland's 2-1 win over Ecuador on Sunday.
Shaqiri looked taken aback at first. He then let out a little laugh.
"That's an excellent joke," he said.
But the questioner, a member of the German press, wasn't laughing.
"I think I did a great match today," Shaqiri added. "Others had to decide on this award. I am very proud to receive the award."
It was hardly one of Shaqiri's best displays, but the same can be said of the rest of his Switzerland teammates after a sub-par performance against Ecuador that was rescued by substitute Haris Seferovic's last-gasp winner.
