Former Manchester United and Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz, who was unveiled on as head coach of Ghana men’s national team last week, and declared the Black Stars job the biggest challenge of his 43-year coaching career.
The 73-year-old Portuguese coach, who was born in Mozambique, signed a four-month contract with the Ghana Football Association through the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
He took charge with 50-odd days remaining before Ghana open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto.
“After eight national teams and a couple of important competitions, this is the biggest challenge of my entire career and I am ready for that,” Queiroz said at his inaugural press conference in Accra.
“When you work for Ghana, they don’t expect nothing different than win, win, win. That is why it is the biggest challenge of my career.”
Speaking to reporters after meeting with Ghana Sports Minister Kofi Adams, and ahead of the formal press conference, Queiroz cited his African origins as personally significant.
“I have very strong African roots,” he said. “I was born and raised in Mozambique, so leading an African country like Ghana to the World Cup is unforgettable and will remain a memory for life.”
On the compressed preparation window, Queiroz said his staff had already begun detailed analysis of the player pool.
“We are running against the wind, we are running against time,” he said. “But with my experience and my expertise and the support of the staff and the players, I am very much confident that we can do it.
“We cannot lie to ourselves, we have to know where we stand to know exactly what we need to do.”
Ghana boast one of the most talented group of players in Africa, but Queiroz said squad selection would be decided strictly on merit, with no exemptions for established names.
“Nobody owns the national team shirt, either by name or reputation, but the players will train to represent the country and it is our job to give them a fair and right opportunity,” he said.
“The only thing that I can promise to you is to guarantee hard work, to guarantee that when our players start the game, they will be ready, they will do everything with that belief, that capacity to win the game.
“I want the players when they finish the games, they come out with their heads up and be proud of their efforts and be sure that they make all the fans proud of them.”
He said selection criteria would weigh performance, experience, character and attitude, and that he insisted on time to evaluate players from Ghana’s domestic league before finalising any squad.
“My concern with the federation was to organize the local players, because I didn’t want to go for the final selection without having the opportunity to see them, to be with them, to analyze them,” he said.
“In the locker room, the weight is twenty grams,” Queiroz said of the national team shirt, “but the moment that player crosses the line and starts the game, that shirt weighs twenty kilos because the responsibility is huge to play for the country.”
Ghana, placed in Group L alongside England and Croatia, have not advanced beyond the group stage since reaching the quarterfinals at the 2010 World Cup. The Black Stars also failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, their first absence from the continental tournament in 21 years.
Queiroz replaces Otto Addo, who was dismissed on March 31 after Ghana lost 5-1 to Austria and 2-1 to Germany in consecutive March friendlies. Addo, who guided Ghana to back-to-back World Cup qualifications, finished his second stint with eight wins, five draws and nine defeats from 22 matches, a win rate of 36.4 percent.
One of the most experienced international coaches in the game, Queiroz guided Portugal’s under-20 side to consecutive FIFA World Youth Championship titles in 1989 and 1991, a run that produced Luis Figo and Rui Costa.
He later served as assistant coach at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson before managing Real Madrid. His record as a senior international coach includes spells in Portugal, South Africa, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Egypt, Qatar and Oman. Ghana will be his fifth consecutive World Cup as a head coach.
On the African continent, Queiroz qualified South Africa for the 2002 World Cup and led Egypt to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final, where the Pharaohs lost to Senegal on penalties. He departed Oman last month after the country failed to qualify for the World Cup.
There has been speculation that part of the reason the GFA chose Queiroz ahead of others was his reputation as a coach who could build defensive structures, and essentially plug the Black Stars’ leaky backline. But the Portuguese rejected the label.
“There is no such thing in modern football like defensive and attacking coaches,” he said. “I am a winning coach. I don’t understand that theme of defend or attack.
“I know one thing: when we don’t have the ball, we have to fight together, we have to sacrifice. In Ghana and the rest of the world, there is only one medicine in football: to win.”
Asked whether he feared being fired if results did not go as planned, Queiroz invoked former South African President Nelson Mandela.
“In my career, I had the privilege and the honour to work for probably the most special man I ever met in my life. And that great man was President Nelson Mandela. He told me, Carlos, we never lose. We win, and we learn,” Queiroz said.
“I am not afraid to take risks in my life.”
GFA officials confirmed during the press conference that Queiroz will bring five assistants into the setup. At least two members of Addo’s backroom staff, assistant coach Desmond Offei and goalkeeper trainer Fatawu Dauda, have been retained.
Ghana face Mexico on May 22 in the first of two pre-tournament friendlies and the second June 2 against Wales in Cardiff. The Black Stars open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto, then take on England on June 23 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, before rounding up group stage play against Croatia on June 27 in Philadelphia.-ESPN
