Ghana defender Gideon Mensah says the Black Stars are determined to turn the disappointment of their 2026 FIFA World Cup exit into motivation as they prepare for future competitions.

The four-time African champions saw their World Cup campaign come to an end after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia in the Round of 32 at Kansas City Stadium on Saturday morning.

Jhon Arias scored the only goal of the game in the 14th minute to send the South Americans through to the next round.

Reflecting on the defeat, the AJ Auxerre left-back admitted the result was difficult to accept, insisting the team had entered the match fully prepared.

“I think we came ready. But at the end of the day, the result was not on our side. Sorry about the loss,” Mensah said after the match.

The 27-year-old acknowledged the harsh realities of knockout football, explaining that Ghana had little room for error after conceding shortly following Marvin’s injury.

“It doesn’t get easy. It’s not like you are playing in the group stages, where you have a second game or a third game. It’s a knockout stage. You try as much to equalise or to win the game any way you can. It’s quite unfortunate that we got a goal after Marvin went out on Alidu’s side. It’s part of the game. You can’t blame him. You can’t blame anybody. We went out on the field as a team, and then we came out as a team.”

Mensah also spoke about the emotional burden carried by the players, saying they understand the expectations of millions of Ghanaians and football fans who supported them throughout the tournament.

“It’s something that I think me as a player, I’ve been playing football for quite some time now. You’re not happy when you lose a game, especially in the World Cup. As I said earlier on, we came into the game very confident. That breaks us a bit. The fact that we have so many people hoping that we take them to the next stage. At some point, we don’t even play for ourselves.

“We play for the people, we play for our family, we play for people that love the game. People who are sacrificing their sleep to watch us. Obviously, you think about these people, and then the emotions are always going to be there.”

Despite the heartbreak, Mensah believes Ghana can emerge stronger from the setback and has urged the team to focus on making the nation proud once again.

“At the same time, as I said, we are very proud of our journey in this tournament. We are the only people who can make the people who are sad now happy again. We can’t dwell in the sadness forever. Everybody is down, but at the same time, we are on the battlefield. We are the soldiers for the country. We step back again, work on ourselves and then make sure that we are making every Ghanaian proud again.”

The former FC Red Bull Salzburg defender also praised the performances of African nations at the tournament, saying their displays had underlined the continent’s growing strength on the global stage.

“I think this tournament has been very good for African football. It shows that we have so much to show in the World Cup. We have so much to show in football. It shows that when we are given the opportunity, we can do something better.”

Following their World Cup exit, Ghana’s attention now shifts to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where the Black Stars will be aiming to begin their road to continental success on a positive note.

The defeat also signals the end of Carlos Queiroz’s brief spell as Black Stars head coach, with the Portuguese trainer stepping down after the tournament.

Queiroz had been appointed on a short-term contract ahead of the World Cup following the dismissal of Otto Addo earlier this year.