Carlos Queiroz has taken full responsibility for Ghana’s shock 4-2 defeat to The Gambia and apologised to fans after the Black Stars threw away a 2-0 lead at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday.
Speaking after the Group C qualifier, a visibly disappointed Queiroz said there was little to say after a terrible day where everything went wrong for his team.
“There is not much to say today after the terrible result for us. I, the staff, all the players, we are deeply sad with the result. And we have to say sorry to our fans, to our supporters, for what happened in the stadium,” he said.
Ghana were cruising after first-half goals from Ernest Nuamah and Felix Afena-Gyan, but two quick goals from The Gambia before the break killed the team’s morale and turned the game around, according to the coach.
Queiroz was emphatic that criticism should be directed at him and not his players, insisting they will be the ones to deliver qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
“If there is one person who takes the responsibility of the result, it’s me. If you want to blame and criticise, which is correct and right, you can question me as a coach. Please keep supporting your players,” he pleaded.
On calls for his resignation, the Portuguese tactician said quitting would be the easiest solution but would not solve Ghana football’s deeper problems.
“If you believe that with the coach resigning, you can change the situation of football in Ghana, I’ll be the first one to resign. I don’t have that belief. But that is a decision of the board of the Federation,” he said.
“I still have the top record of wins in international football. I am the coach in football with the most wins. And this defeat doesn’t make me a loser. This defeat makes me more alert for the lessons that we take.”
Queiroz also pointed to an unprecedented injury crisis that has hit the team, revealing that Ghana is without 24 players from the national A team. He cited injuries to key defenders including Alexander Djiku, Antoine Semenyo, Mumin and Marvin, while also managing players who cannot play 90 minutes.
He further noted that Ghana’s winless run did not start today, with the Black Stars now eight competitive games without a win on the road.
Despite the setback, he maintained his long-held belief about the national team.
“The Black Stars was never a problem. It is not a problem and it will never be a problem in the future, as far as we find the solutions to bring the team together,” he said.
Below is the full transcript of Coach Carlos Queiroz’s post-match press conference:
On the result and performance
There is not much to say today, after the terrible result for us. I, the staff, all the players, we are deeply sad with the result that happened here today. And we have to say sorry to our fans, to our supporters, for what happened in the stadium. This was one of those days when everything went wrong for our team. Especially in the first half after we were leading 2-0. We conceded two goals very easily, and those two goals turned the story of the game around. At the moment we should have gone for an easy result in the second half, conceding those two goals in the first half killed the morale and made my players nervous. That was one of the reasons we were not able to perform well.
But I want to say to everybody here in front of me that if there is one person who takes responsibility for the result, it is me. If you want to blame and criticise, which is correct and right, you can question me as the coach. And please keep supporting your players, because they will be the ones who will be ready and prepared to win the next matches and qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.
On calls for him to resign
Well, when we have a result like this, the option to resign is the easiest solution. If you believe that with the coach resigning you can change the situation of football in Ghana, I will be the first one to resign. I don’t have that belief. But that is a decision for the board of the Federation to analyse and decide with me. The future of one coach is always in the hands of God and the results.
Of course, as I said, this is not the first time that a coach loses a game. I have lost a couple of games. Despite this loss, I still have the top record of wins in international football. I am the coach in football with the most wins. And this defeat doesn’t make me a loser. This defeat makes me more alert to the lessons we take from the games and what we have to do in the future, with me or without me.
In my life, I have always had one very simple approach in football. Some coaches admit they lose. I never admit that I lose. I had a result that was not positive. But for me, you win or you learn. We learned in the last game things that we should do better. In the first half, we did it much better. We led the game, we controlled the game, we scored two goals. At that point it was the belief of the staff, the players, and even the fans, that we would go for three or four. Then two accidents happened in the first half and our team went down.
On what the result means
We cannot say it is a step back. What we can do is to be better prepared, better organised for the next games and win the next games. This is what we have to get done.
On the performance of Sibo and lack of a holding midfielder
We have the best players available to play this game, inside the pitch and outside the pitch, and when some of our players are not on fresh legs, we have to make decisions. I think Ibrahim came very well into the game, he had a good performance in the second half. He brought the team forward. I think Augustine brought the team forward as well. But unfortunately, we were not able to score. All our best resources available played the match. If you want to tell me another player that you suggest to come inside, I will appreciate that.
On being afraid to test new players
Never in my life am I afraid to start a new player. Giving opportunities to players at 17, 18 years old has always been my benchmark. But you have to be sure that when you put new players on the pitch, you don’t burn the players, you don’t send them into the fire, and you do it step by step.
Augustine arrived in the national team and has been training with the national team and I think game by game, he will be ready to perform for the team. I called him for the first time to the national team for the World Cup. Everybody was surprised by that, and I think I made a good decision when I brought him to the national team for the World Cup, despite all the criticisms people made about my decision. So now you saw during the game, step by step, that he is a player who deserves to be here.
On losing defensive attributes after conceding six in the last two matches
It is not a step back. It can only be a step back in the performance of the team when we are forced to change players every camp. But when we have players injured, and all of a sudden, the player with the most minutes in the Ghana national team, Antoine, got injured, Djiku became injured, Mumin was also not playing, you have to make decisions. Marvin is also injured, so you have to call the players that you trust. Today we had a starter like Adjetey, who has experience in the national team. He was in the World Cup, and we have a new young player on the bench who, by the way, before we started the game, was sick and was not able to play. So we started this game with only two centre-backs.
Kojo is also short of minutes, so we have to manage decisions, because we knew that Kojo could not play 90 minutes. That is why when you have players in the team who cannot play 90 minutes, you have to manage decisions to have solutions. When those players go down, like Sibo, like Kojo, like Ibrahim, who also don’t have 90 minutes, we have to manage the minutes of these players in order for them to perform well for the national team.
On approach to remaining matches
For the Ghana national team, this is game number eight on the road that Ghana did not win. For the qualifiers, it is game number eight. So, this issue didn’t start today, it didn’t start yesterday. We have eight games since the last time Ghana won a game, so we have to start to think about that. It is not only something that happened here today. There are a lot of things that need to be reviewed.
The Gambia national team came here with all the top stars they have available, same as Ivory Coast, who have all their top stars. And this is not an excuse because I was clear as a coach. I’m not happy, nobody here in this room, even all of you together, are not happy just like me.
We have 24 players from the national A team out of this squad who cannot give their contribution to the national team. When I started to make the list, we had eight players from the A team injured, after that, eight to 23 and one sick. It’s impossible. The only thing I can say is that I take responsibility for this result. Please leave the players, because it is not their responsibility. They tried their best, of course we make mistakes. But if we have to blame the result on one person, please do it with me, because there is one thing that I repeat here. It is not because I lose one game that makes me a loser, never. I have won many, many battles and I still have the record for the most wins in international football, so that has a meaning that I am capable of doing the job.
But whether we have the conditions or not, that is something different. We cannot, every time we call the national team, change eight, nine, ten players from the A team and the starting line-up. We had 24 players out. We have to do research into why this happened. Twenty-four players out is not a normal situation. But again, to all of you, this is not an excuse, this is not an explanation, we have to take responsibility for the result and once again, to all Ghanaian fans, we deeply regret this result and we apologise for that.
On whether he stands by his earlier statement that Black Stars is not a problem
The same answer that I give you now. We are facing some challenges, some problems. But the Black Stars was never a problem. It is not a problem and it will never be a problem in the future, as far as we find the solutions to bring the team together.
