Ghana captain John Mensah has expressed regret after his team's 1-0 defeat to Zambia in the 2012 African Cup of Nations semifinal on Wednesday.

“It’s unlucky that we lost this game. We promise them we will come back strongly next year.”

Ghana coach Goran Stevanovich snubbed the post-match news conference and avoided talking to the media, while Kwesi Appiah blamed luck for the loss when he was quoted on Cafonline.

“We dominated possession throughout the game. It was unfortunate they scored from the two chances that came their way. Personally, I don’t think something went wrong with the team. We were unlucky,” Appiah said.

Ghana are set to face Mali, who lost to Ivory Coast on Wednesday, in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter:@AO_Sports)