Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan says the dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat to Ivory Coast in the final of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations will toughen the team to win major silverware in future.
The Black Stars held the star-studded Elephants side to a 0-0 draw after extra-time.
But Ghana allowed a winning position to slip by after Ivory Coast missed their first two spot-kicks.
After 22 kicks, Ivory Coast recovered to win 9-8 and lift their second African title.
"We had the chance to win tonight but that's football," the striker added. "We apologise for that.
"I'm very sad but I cannot fault our performance. We have young players who are very good, so we hope that we can come back stronger."