By Simon Asare
Accra, July 4, GNA – Ghana defender Gideon Mensah says the Black Stars will learn lessons from their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign following their 1-0 defeat against Colombia in the Round of 32.
Ghana’s hopes of progressing to the Round of 16 ended at the Kansas City Stadium after Jhon Arias scored in the 14th minute to secure victory for Colombia.
Despite the disappointment, Mensah said the team could take pride in its performances during the competition.
“We are proud of our journey. It’s unfortunate that the result turned out this way,” Mensah said after the match.
“We came into the game, very confident of a win but it just didn’t work out. The players fought very hard, we wanted to fight to give Ghana victory so that we can make it to the next round, but it didn’t work.”
The left-back acknowledged that the defeat was difficult for the players to accept.
“It’s hard to take, and we must take it on the chin and move on,” he added. “What we can do now is to go back home, make deeper reflections and begin another journey in the Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.”
Mensah said the mood in the dressing room was subdued but stressed that the team had shown enough during the tournament to build on in the future.
“Obviously, we are not happy about the loss. The mood in the dressing room is very down but we have a lot of positives to pick from this campaign going into the future.”
Ghana bowed out of the World Cup at the Round of 32 stage, with attention now shifting to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which begin in September 2026.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Simon Asare