Ghana captain Andre Ayew has taken the full responsibility after the west African side bowed out of the African Cup of Nations at the round of 16 stage. The Black Stars had gone into the tournament with a view to ending their trophy drought which has extended for 32 years but they failed to do so after a penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of Tunisia.
Speaking after the game, Ayew acknowledged that he is disappointed from the outcome of the match and takes the responsibility for the country’s exit. He added that the players can take heart from the good characteristics of their performances and come back stronger for the forthcoming round of internationals.
He said: “I am very sad and disappointed we could not get to the next stage but we need to take heart and be stronger. The entire team gave everything but it did not go our way. As a Ghanaian and as a leader, no player is to be held responsible for this: I take all the responsibilities and we are going to work hard and come back stronger. If we have been kicked out at this stage it means we had a bad tournament and since we couldn’t achieve the mission we came here for, I will say we failed.”
Against Tunisia, Ghana found themselves on the clutches of defeat after a 73rd-minute strike from Taha Yassine but they managed to get a reprieve after Rami Bedoui conceded an injury time own goal – just seconds after coming onto the field. As such, Kwesi Appiah’s team were able to keep their hopes alive of reaching the quarter-finals until they were beaten in the penalty shoot-out.
Meanwhile, Ayew is now expected to go on a vacation before deciding on the next challenge. The experienced attacker spent the previous campaign on loan with Fenerbahce, but the Turkish club have decided against signing him on a permanent deal. He is still expected to secure a new club, given he has no ambition of playing in the Championship with Swansea City.