Gideon Mensah: Ghana 'proud' of FIFA World Cup run after defeat to Colombia

The West Africans bowed out in the Round of 32 following a narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia on Friday in Kansas City. The decisive moment arrived early in the contest when Jhon Arias found the net in the 14th minute, a strike that ultimately brought Ghana's campaign to a close.

Mensah acknowledged that the result was painful for everyone in the dressing room, admitting it was a difficult setback to process after the team's efforts throughout the tournament.

He stressed, however, that the players had left everything on the pitch in their attempt to extend their stay at the global showpiece.

Rather than dwelling on the disappointment, the left-back insisted there were valuable lessons to take from the competition. He expressed confidence that the experience gained on football's biggest stage would serve Ghana well in the years ahead.

"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.

"It's hard to take, and we must take it on the chin and move on. What we can do now is to go back home, make deeper reflections and begin another journey in the Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.

"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."