Ghana's national football team, the Black Stars, suffered a second consecutive defeat in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. They lost 4-2 to The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium on September 29, 2026. The team had been seeking to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Côte d'Ivoire in their opening game.
The Black Stars made several changes to their starting lineup for the match against Gambia. Benjamin Asare replaced Lawrence Ati-Zigi in goal, while Jonas Adjetey came into the defence in place of Alexander Djiku. Jerome Opoku, Kojo Oppong Peprah, and Gideon Mensah retained their places in the team. Kwasi Sibo and Caleb Yirenkyi started in midfield, with Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Christopher Bonsu Baah, and Felix Afena-Gyan leading the attack.
Ghana started the match strongly, dominating possession in the opening stages. However, 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. However, 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 Gambia 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. The Black Stars made two changes at the start of the second half, bringing on Benjamin Tetteh for Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ibrahim Sulemana for Sibo.
The Gambia 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. 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.
Key points
- Ghana conceded six goals in their opening two qualifiers.
- The Black Stars will face Somalia in a double-header next month.
- Ghana have conceded four goals in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match for the first time.
