Thousands of football fans thronged Ghana's main airport on Monday to welcome back home the national team who suffered a narrow and heart-breaking loss to Uruguay in their World Cup quarter-final.

Kotoka international airport was choked with fans who started gathering as early as six hours before the team's expected arrival from South Africa.

Even a two hours delay in arrival till 11.30pm could not deter the drumming and dancing fans and flags were waved at the players as they stepped out of the plane amid a deafening sound of vuvuzelas.

Fans carried placards reading "We love you our heroes, you made Ghana and Africa proud".

Ghana reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time, the best of the African teams at the 2010 tournament and equalling the feats previously chalked up by Senegal and Cameroon.

However they were beaten by Uruguay in a penalty shoot out, having missed a penalty shot in the last minute of extra time following a Uruguyan handball on the goal line to stop a certain goal.

"You've really held high the flag of Ghana and the entire African continent," Nii Nortey Duah, Deputy Minister of Sports, told the players at the airport.

"We did our best but luck was not on our side but we'll go to Brazil in 2014 to be major contenders," captain Stephen Appiah said.

Kwasi Amponsah, a fan said: "What the boys have done will forever be remembered by the whole world. They displayed quality football only to lose by hard luck".

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