Black Stars defender, Jonathan Mensah, has admitted that losing the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final to Ivory Coast, was more painful than losing to Uruguay in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup.

In the 2010 World Cup, Ghana drew 1-1 Uruguay in regular time and missed a last minute penalty in extra time only to lose 4-2 on penalties.

A win would have ensured that Ghana would become the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Five years later, the Black Stars were in the final of the 2015 AFCON against Ivory Coast. The game ended 0-0 and went into a penalty shootout which Ghana took a two-goal lead and surrendered it to lose 8-9.

In an Instagram Live conversation with Joy Sports’ Owuraku Ampofo, Jonathan Mensah was asked between the two moments which was more painful and after a long deliberation, the Columbus Crew captain opted for the 2015 AFCON final.

“We have had so many great talents over the years. We weren’t even born when we had the greats that won the African cup. We’ve only been to the World Cup three times, and we have missed out on the Africa Cup of Nations for over 37 years. So it’ll be good to win the African Cup. I would say that missing out on the final was more painful because, we were leading 2-0 during the penalty shootout and we went ahead to lose it which is very painful.”

Jonathan Mensah was a member of the Ghana team in both the 2010 World Cup and the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.