It wasn't meant to be this way.
The Black Stars have been serial semi-finalists at the biennial continental showpieces, never failing to make the final four in the last six editions of the tournament.
This time, the vague hope had been that they could finally end the country's 37-year wait for the gold, despite the evidence leading up to the tournament suggesting they'd be overachieving just to make the semis.
The Round of 16 exit - their earliest elimination from the competition since 2006 - could well bring the curtain down on this promising cycle for the national side, as well as a few of it's top stars.
Yet Ghana only have themselves to blame for their premature elimination from the competition, and face an uncertain period ahead as a result.