Ghana suffered a second successive defeat in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers as they were beaten 4-2 by The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The Black Stars, desperate to return to the continental tournament after missing the 2025 edition, went into the Group C encounter looking to recover from their 2-0 defeat by Côte d’Ivoire in their opening game.

Head coach Carlos Queiroz made several changes to his starting XI, with Benjamin Asare replacing Lawrence Ati-Zigi in goal.

Jonas Adjetey came into the defence in place of Alexander Djiku, while Jerome Opoku, Kojo Oppong Peprah and Gideon Mensah retained their places.

Kwasi Sibo and Caleb Yirenkyi started in midfield, with Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Christopher Bonsu Baah and Felix Afena-Gyan leading Ghana’s attack.

Ghana started brightly and enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening stages, although they struggled to create clear-cut chances against a disciplined Gambian defence.

The visitors threatened first in the 12th minute when a shot from the edge of the penalty area failed to trouble Asare.

Ghana gradually took control and came close to opening the scoring through Afena-Gyan, whose effort was deflected behind for a corner.

The hosts were eventually rewarded in the 27th minute when Jerome Opoku was fouled inside the penalty area.

Ernest Nuamah stepped up and calmly converted the resulting penalty to give Ghana the lead.

The Black Stars continued to dominate possession but The Gambia almost responded immediately, with Opoku making an important block to deny the visitors in the 30th minute.

Ghana then launched a counter-attack and won a free-kick after Afena-Gyan was brought down on the edge of the box.

The striker took responsibility for the set-piece and produced a superb finish to double Ghana’s advantage.

But the two-goal lead lasted only two minutes.

Gideon Mensah was penalised for a foul inside the Ghanaian penalty area, allowing Muhammed Badamosi to reduce the deficit from the spot in the 37th minute.

The goal gave The Gambia renewed confidence and they completed a remarkable comeback before half-time when Omar Colley equalised in the 42nd minute.

Ghana were unable to restore their lead before the break, with the two sides going into half-time level at 2-2.

Queiroz made two changes at the start of the second half, bringing on Benjamin Tetteh for Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ibrahim Sulemana for Sibo.

Ghana continued to push forward and were awarded a free-kick early in the half, although the Gambian defence reacted quickly to prevent the hosts from taking it quickly.

The Black Stars maintained the pressure but struggled to make their possession count in the final third.

Nuamah came close to restoring Ghana’s lead, but his effort drifted wide.

The Gambia then completed their comeback in the 68th minute.

Ebrima Colley capitalised on a poor clearance by Mensah to put the visitors ahead for the first time in the match.

Ghana responded by throwing more players forward in search of an equaliser, with Nuamah coming close again in the 79th minute, only for his powerful effort to miss the target.

The Black Stars continued to press in the closing stages but could not find a way through the Gambian defence.

Deep into added time, The Gambia put the result beyond doubt when Ebrima Colley finished off a well-worked move to score his second goal of the evening and make it 4-2.

The defeat leaves Ghana bottom of Group C without a point after two matches, having conceded six goals in their opening two qualifiers.

It is also the first time Ghana have conceded four goals in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.

The Black Stars will now regroup next month when they face Somalia in a double-header as they attempt to revive their qualification campaign.