Black Stars captain Gideon Mensah has accepted responsibility for Ghana’s disappointing 4-2 defeat to The Gambia in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Ghana suffered a dramatic collapse on Tuesday after surrendering a two-goal lead against the Gambians. Ernest Nuamah and Felix Afena-Gyan had put the Black Stars in a commanding position, but the visitors fought back to secure all three points.
Mensah was directly involved in two of The Gambia’s goals. The left-back conceded a penalty following a rash challenge before a poor back pass allowed Ebrima Colley to capitalise and score the visitors’ third goal.
Speaking after the match, Mensah admitted that Ghana failed to perform at the expected level and said the players must accept criticism for the result.
“We have to accept that luck wasn’t on our side and we probably didn’t perform as we were supposed to perform. As a captain today, I feel like I will also take responsibility for everything that happened today,” he said.
The defender, who captained the side in the absence of several senior players, also highlighted the difficulty of integrating a number of newcomers into the team.
According to Mensah, some of the new players are still adapting to the demands and responsibility that come with representing Ghana.
“We can’t hide from the fact that we had so many newcomers in the team,” he explained, stressing that understanding the mentality and expectations associated with wearing the Black Stars jersey takes time.
Mensah noted that representing Ghana carries significant expectations because of the country’s passion for football.
