THE GAMBIA DEFEAT: NEWCOMERS NEED TIME TO ADJUST – GIDEON MENSAH

Black Stars defender Gideon Mensah has attributed Ghana’s 4-2 defeat to The Gambia partly to the challenge of integrating newcomers into the national team, saying it takes time for new players to understand the responsibility that comes with representing the country. Ghana surrendered a two-goal lead to lose Tuesday’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Mensah, who captained the Black Stars, said playing for Ghana carries a different level of responsibility from representing a club. “We can’t hide from the fact that we had so many newcomers in the team,” Mensah said. “When we talk about newcomers, it has to do with mentality; it has to do with the understanding that they didn’t know about playing for Ghana, wearing the Ghana jersey.” He said the pressure and expectations associated with representing the national team cannot be absorbed immediately by players making their first appearances. “This is not something that we can switch from overnight. It takes time for new players to learn that playing for Ghana comes with a whole lot,” he said. Mensah said representing Ghana also carries a unique emotional connection because of the importance of football to the country. “You’re playing for a country where everybody lives off football, and everybody’s happy when Ghana wins the game,” he said. “And then I think this was the part that we were missing in the game.” He pointed to Ghana’s second goal, scored by Felix Afena-Gyan, as an example of the passion and commitment expected when playing for the national team. “If you saw some part of the game where we scored the second goal, everybody was literally on the sideline,” Mensah said. “These are things that you can’t learn overnight. These are things that it needs time for some of the boys to learn about it.”