AFCON 2023: Not progressing to the next stage was difficult to deal with; we accept responsibility — George Boateng 

Former assistant coach of the Black Stars, George Boateng, has expressed his disappointment with Ghana's performance at the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte D'Ivoire.

Boateng, who served as part of the coaching team, acknowledged the difficulty of accepting the team's failure to progress to the next stage.

In a statement made on Sky Sports, Boateng admitted that the team's performance was below par, and he, along with the coaching staff, takes responsibility for the outcome.

He highlighted the emotional challenge of not advancing but emphasized the unpredictable nature of football.

“It was difficult to deal with the fact that you didn’t progress to the next stage, but it’s football,” Boateng stated during the interview.

“All you can do as a coaching staff is accept responsibility for it, evaluate what went wrong together with the FA and players to help ourselves to make sure that next time when we do get another opportunity, we learn from it,” he added.

Ghana's disappointing campaign in AFCON 2023 saw them finishing third in a challenging group that included Cape Verde, Egypt, and Mozambique.

The Black Stars suffered a 2-1 defeat to Cape Verde and managed back-to-back 2-2 draws against Egypt and Mozambique, sealing their elimination from the tournament.

This marks the second consecutive AFCON in which Ghana exited at the group stages without securing a victory, extending the country's wait for its fifth AFCON title to 42 years.

In reaction to the disappointing performance, the Ghana Football Association promptly sacked the entire coaching staff following the confirmation of Ghana's elimination from the tournament.