Ghana’s hopes of making a strong start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers suffered a major setback on Tuesday evening after the Black Stars surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 to Gambia.
The defeat at the Accra Sports Stadium means Carlos Queiroz’s side have now suffered back-to-back defeats in their qualifying campaign.
Ghana had already lost 2-0 to Ivory Coast last Thursday and were looking to bounce back on home soil.
Instead, the Black Stars endured another frustrating evening as a promising start turned into a heavy defeat.
Ghana throw away two-goal advantage
Ghana appeared to be in control after taking a 2-0 lead.
Ernest Nuamah opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 27th minute before Felix Afena-Gyan doubled the advantage six minutes later.
However, Gambia fought back before half-time.
Mohamed Badamosi reduced the deficit with a penalty in the 37th minute before Omar Colley levelled the scores in the 42nd minute.
The turnaround left Ghana facing an uphill battle in the second half.
The Black Stars were unable to regain control of the contest, with Gambia taking advantage of Ghana’s struggles.
Ebrima Colley then struck twice late in the match (68th and 91st minutes) to complete Gambia’s comeback and secure a 4-2 victory.
Ghana bottom of the group
The defeat leaves Ghana bottom of their qualifying Group C with zero points after two matches.
Somalia are the fourth team in the group. They too are point-less, but ahead of Ghana on goal difference.
For Queiroz, the result represents a difficult beginning to his tenure in charge of the Black Stars.
The former Bafana Bafana coach had been appointed with Ghana hoping to improve their fortunes, but consecutive defeats have immediately increased the pressure on his team.
Ghana will now have to regroup quickly ahead of their next match against Somalia on 11 November.