I thought this was our tournament – Ghana’s Wakaso

Mubarak Wakaso of Ghana during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Last 16 match between Ghana and Tunisia at the Ismailia Stadium, Ismailia on the 08 July 2019 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

by BackPageTXT

Wednesday Jul 10, 2019. 09:14

Ghana midfielder Mubarak Wakaso was left in tears after his team’s exit from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations earlier this week.

The Black Stars were edged on penalties by Tunisia on Monday night in the teams’ last 16 knockout tie. The match ended 1-1 after extra time.

Wakaso, despite ending on the losing side, was named man of the match for his tireless showing in the midfield, but the individual award did little to console a player who believed that this was Ghana’s AFCON to win.

"I can’t even describe how we are feeling but the only thing I have is I need to thank my colleagues the whole time for their support," said Wakaso.

"It’s part of the game. I think we need to think about our future - that’s the only thing we can do.

"My reason [for being so emotional and weeping in the press conference] was that I thought this tournament was for us due to the hard work we’ve been putting in in every match.

"That is the reason why I’m like this right now but still have a future so we need to think ahead."

Ghana have not an AFCON tournament since claiming their fourth continental crown back in 1982.