Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz has praised the unity, adaptability and commitment of his squad as Ghana prepares to begin its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Panama.
The five-time African champions will open their Group L campaign at BMO Field on Wednesday night, with kick-off scheduled for 23:00 GMT.
Speaking ahead of the crucial encounter, Queiroz highlighted the challenge of blending players from different footballing backgrounds into a cohesive unit, while commending the squad for embracing his ideas and philosophy.
“We’ve got the task of connecting players that have a French philosophy of the game with those who have English and Spanish ones,” said Queiroz.
“And then it has to combine with local ideas to create an identity for our game. It has not been easy, but it’s been very rewarding to do because our players have been very cooperative.”
“They’ve been very open. They’ve been seeking to participate in the construction of a very strong team.”
The experienced Portuguese tactician stressed that building strong relationships within the team has been a major focus during preparations for the tournament.
“The connection has been the most important aspect that we’ve been able to work on in this short time that we’ve had together,” said Queiroz, who is overseeing a team at the World Cup for the fifth time.
“I am quite pleased because the team has responded well. They’re very cohesive. They’re very well integrated. We have a compact team.”
Ghana’s opening match against Panama is expected to play a key role in determining their chances of advancing from a challenging group that also includes England and Croatia.
Following the Panama clash, the Black Stars will face England on June 23 before concluding their Group L campaign against Croatia on June 27.
Ghana will be aiming to progress beyond the group stage of the FIFA World Cup for the first time since their memorable quarter-final run at the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
