Ghanaian commentator King Giovanni has passionately defended Felix Afena-Gyan following the forward’s performance in Ghana’s 4-2 defeat to The Gambia, insisting that the young attacker deserves greater support and protection from the Black Stars.
Afena-Gyan was one of Ghana’s standout attacking players on Tuesday, scoring Ghana’s second goal with a well-taken free-kick after the Black Stars had taken a 2-0 lead. Ghana eventually surrendered the advantage and lost the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier 4-2 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Writing about the forward’s performance, King Giovanni argued that Afena-Gyan’s contribution went beyond the goal he scored.
“If you can clearly notice well he is the reason behind our two goals. First he caused the corner and secondly he caused the freekick and scored from the spot,” King Giovanni wrote.
His comments referred to the sequence that led to Ghana’s opening goal and Afena-Gyan’s subsequent goal. Afena-Gyan’s effort shortly before the opening penalty resulted in a corner, while he later scored Ghana’s second goal from a free-kick.
King Giovanni also expressed frustration over the forward’s omission from Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad, arguing that Afena-Gyan had worked hard to earn his place with the national team.
“Such a player should be protected if even he has a bad day at the Black Stars,” he said, stressing that footballers cannot perform at their best in every match.
“In Football you won’t have ur day always but trust me if you are a good player u have lot to offer on the pitch.”
Afena-Gyan, who began his professional breakthrough at AS Roma and rose to prominence after working under José Mourinho, has continued his career in Turkey. He joined Iğdır FK permanently in July 2026 after a loan spell at Amedspor.
King Giovanni believes the 23-year-old still has significant room to develop and contribute to Ghana’s national team.
“At his age he can play much more games for the stars, he is not a second batch player,” he wrote, calling on supporters to back the forward’s continued growth.
He ended his message with an expression of confidence in Afena-Gyan’s future.
“Support his growth because he has sacrificed a lot for the nation. Afena Afena Afena. My boy is back with the fire. 🔥”
Afena-Gyan’s goal against The Gambia was his first for Ghana in the current 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign. Despite his contribution, Ghana ultimately suffered a second consecutive qualifying defeat and currently have no points from their opening two Group C matches.
