Defender Gideon Mensah says the team will take positives from their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign despite Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Colombia in the Round of 32.

Jhon Arias’ 14th-minute strike ended Ghana’s run in Kansas City, but Mensah insists the squad gave everything to keep the journey alive.

“We are proud of our journey. It’s unfortunate that the result turned out this way,” Mensah said after the game.

“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 admitted the defeat was tough to take inside the Ghana dressing room.

“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.”

Despite the disappointment, Mensah believes the campaign will serve Ghana well going forward.

“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 exits the World Cup after reaching the Round of 32 - attention now turns to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers in September.

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