Kurt OkrakuGhana Football Association (GFA) president Kurt Okraku believes Black Stars coach Carlos Queiroz would have selected a different squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup had he been given more time to assess the country’s talent pool.Ghana reached the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time since 2010 but were eliminated in the Round of 32 after a 1-0 defeat by Colombia.Reflecting on the campaign, Okraku suggested Queiroz’s limited preparation time may have influenced his player selection.”I did say that I am sure that if this man had more time to scout, to get to know the Ghanaian players and to pick his players, maybe he wouldn’t have picked the same players he picked for the World Cup,” he told 3Sports.Okraku also argued that Ghana’s traditional football identity is built around technical quality, with players encouraged to express themselves through dribbling, passing and ball control.”The Ghanaian style is that simple style of allowing your players to show their technical ability on the ball, their dribbling skills, their passing ability, their high level of technique on the ball.”He said those qualities are central to breaking down opposition defences and felt the team’s World Cup approach did not fully showcase what Ghanaian players are capable of.”These kinds of qualities are the ones that will unlock defenders and allow attacking machinery to be very effective. So what you saw obviously was somebody who said a limited edition of what is possible.”Despite his observations, the GFA president maintained that Queiroz was entitled to choose players who suited his tactical philosophy.”In the end, all of us come together, and we say that this is the coach. And he picks the kind of players that he wants to pick. He thinks about his philosophy, the players that suit his philosophy, and he deploys them.”Okraku added that perceptions of Queiroz’s style might have been different had Ghana advanced beyond Colombia.”I’m sure if we had won against Colombia, if we had gone to the next stage, and maybe in the semi-finals, this wouldn’t be a topic. We’ll say that he played dirty, but won the games for us.”He concluded by acknowledging football’s unpredictability.”Football is that singular activity that one plus one is never two.”Ghana opened their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama before holding England to a goalless draw. A 2-1 defeat by Croatia in their final group match left them third in Group L, but they still progressed to the knockout stage before exiting against Colombia.Queiroz has since been retained as Black Stars head coach after reaching an agreement with the GFA and Ghana’s Sports Ministry.His first assignment under the new deal will be the opening fixtures of Ghana’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign later this month.The Black Stars travel to Bouak to face Cte d’Ivoire at the Stade de la Paix on 24 September before hosting The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium three days later.After missing out on qualification for the previous AFCON finals in Morocco, Ghana will be aiming to secure a swift return to the continental tournament.
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Carlos Queiroz needed more time to build World Cup squad, says GFA president Kurt Okraku
