The Black Stars of Ghana have suffered a 2-0 defeat to Mexico in an international pre-World Cup friendly at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla on the early hours of Saturday, May 23.
Ghana endured the worst possible start after a huge defensive error inside the opening minute gifted Mexico the lead through CD Guadalajara forward Brian Gutierrez.
The Black Stars struggled to settle in the early stages as Mexico continued to threaten, but goalkeeper Benjamin Asare produced a fine save at a close range in the 21st minute to deny Gutierrez from grabbing his second goal of the night.
Ghana, however, returned strongly after halftime and created a number of dangerous moments in search of an equaliser.
In the 51st minute, Felix Afena-Gyan forced Mexican goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo into a brilliant save after a powerful strike before another effort from the Ghanaian forward was again pushed away for a corner.
Moments later, winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi came close to leveling the score after striking the crossbar with a powerful effort from outside the box.
Despite Ghana’s bright spell, Mexico doubled their advantage in the 54th minute when substitute Guillermo Martinez controlled the ball well before firing home with his left foot to make it 2-0.
The Black Stars continued to push forward afterwards but were unable to break down the Mexican defence as the hosts comfortably held on for victory in Puebla.
Ghana will now shift attention to their next pre-World Cup friendly against Wales before heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Black Stars will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 before taking on England on June 23 and Croatia on June 27 in Group L.
