Ghanaian striker, Kevin Prince Boateng greets former president, Nelson Mandela, in Houghton

After an agonizing defeat at the hands of Uruguay on Friday, the Ghana football team made a dramatic exit from the World Cup, as the first and only African team to have made it to the quarter-finals. And yet, the feisty team scored a win of a different kind, as they were treated to a private visit with Nelson Mandela at his home today in Johannesburg.

“It’s a dream come true,” said midfielder Derek Boateng after the team met Mandela. “He is a legend, you know, and everybody is talking about him,” Boateng said. “It is the first time we have met him.”

They may not have qualified for the World Cup semi-finals, but the Ghanaians can return home with their heads held high, and with a personal memory of meeting one of the world’s most inspiring men, Nelson Mandela. See more photos here, courtesy of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Tags: Ghana, Nelson Mandela, World Cup 2010

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