Former Ghana international Michael Essien believes the Black Stars were unfortunate not to secure a major trophy during his time with the national team.
Essien represented Ghana between 2002 and 2012, playing a key role in several international tournaments before retiring from national duty.
The former Chelsea midfielder was part of the squad that reached the semifinals of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the final of the 2010 edition, where Ghana narrowly lost to Egypt.
Reflecting on those near-misses, Essien admitted it still hurts that his generation was unable to lift a trophy for the nation.
"Yes, it hurts that we didn’t win a trophy because we were so unlucky in AFCON 2008. We got so close, but it didn’t happen," he told Sporty FM.
"We would have loved to win something for the nation, but it didn’t happen, and we had to move on."
Since Essien's retirement, the Black Stars have come close to ending their trophy drought, reaching the AFCON final in 2015, only to lose to Côte d'Ivoire on penalties.
