Gyan scored three goals as Ghana became only the third African country in World Cup history to reach the quarter finals.
And had he scored a late minute penalty against Uruguay, Ghana would have been the first African side to secure a place in the last four of the FIFA World Cup.
The ten nominated players were selected by the FIFA Technical Study Group and includes football experts such as Kalusha Bwalya, Christian Karembeu, Jomo Sono and Gérard Houllier.
The nominees are: Diego Forlan (Uruguay, shirt number 10), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana,3), Andres Iniesta (Spain, 6), Lionel Messi (Argentina 10), Mesut Oezil (Germany, 8), Arjen Robben (Netherlands, 11), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany, 7), Wesley Sneijder (Netherkands, 10), David Villa (Spain, 7), Xavi (Spain, 8).
Accredited media representatives will vote to determine the winners of the adidas Golden, Silver and Bronze ball awards on FIFA.com. The winners will be announced after the final on 11 July.
Past winners of the adidas Golden Ball are: 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain: Paolo Rossi (Italy) 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico: Diego Maradona (Argentina) 1990 FIFA World Cup Italy: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) 1994 FIFA World Cup USA: Romario (Brazil) 1998 FIFA World Cup France: Ronaldo (Brazil 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea / Japan: Oliver K.
ahn (Germany) 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: Zinedine Zidane (France)
FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) is headed up by Jean-Paul Brigger . Further prominent members of the TSG are Christian Karembeu, Humberto Grondona, Gérard Houllier, Holger Osieck, Leodegar Tenga, Gabriel Calderon, Alvin Corneal, Kwok Ka-Ming, Kalusha Bwalya, Ephraim Matsilele 'Jomo' Sono and Jim Selby.
The characteristics of the ten best players for the adidas Golden Ball as identified by the FIFA Technical Study Group (in alphabetical order):
Diego Forlan (Uruguay) Architect of the team's attack, very influential, great impact for his team, provider of quality final passes, goal scorer, set pieces/shots from long range
Asamoah Gyan (Ghana) Huge work rate, efficient, good dribbler, creates problems to each defence, good goal scorer
Andres Iniesta (Spain) Very fine ball-playing attacking midfielder, a star for the team, impressive dribbling ability
Lionel Messi (Argentina) Outstanding in his pace and creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing - spectacular and efficient
Mesut Oezil (Germany) A real talent for the present and the future, quick feet and great vision, good final and decisive passes
Arjen Robben (Netherlands) Very good pace and dribbling skills, wonderful ability to cut inside from the right, effective to his team
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) Impressive by his first pass (forward and accurate), very good passer, has moments of individual brilliance, ball-winner
Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands) A maestro in midfield, exceptional work rate, the engine of Netherland's attacks, excellent passer and scorer
David Villa (Spain) Top scorer; quick, two footed, very good on one-on-one situations, provides good final passes, excellent finisher
Xavi (Spain) The metronome and the engine of the Spanish team, very influential in the passing style of the game, one of the finest midfielders in the tournament.
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