Carlos Queiroz has pledged to lead Ghana national football team to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a winning mentality, describing the role as the biggest challenge of his career.
The veteran coach made the remarks on Thursday in Accra at his unveiling, where he received a rousing welcome from fans, just a day after his arrival in the capital.
Dressed in Ghana’s national colours of red, gold and green, supporters greeted the former Portugal national football team, Iran national football team, Egypt national football team and Colombia national football team coach with drumming and singing, reflecting heightened expectations as the Black Stars seek to reassert themselves on the global stage.
“It is an honour and a privilege to be here,” Queiroz told reporters at his first press conference. “After eight national teams, this is the biggest challenge of my career because when you work for Ghana, they expect nothing different than win, win, win.”
Ghana, a five-time World Cup participant, is aiming to improve on recent inconsistent performances, with memories of their historic run at the 2010 FIFA World Cup continuing to shape expectations among supporters.
Queiroz said his immediate focus would be to build cohesion within the squad and instil discipline.
“If we play together, with the right mentality, we can beat any opponent in the world,” he said. “There is only one medicine in football to win.”
With limited time ahead of Ghana’s opening match against Panama national football team, the 73-year-old acknowledged the urgency of his task but expressed confidence in the country’s talent pool.
“My job is to bring the right players to build the right team,” he noted. “A group of talented players is not always a great team.”
He stressed that selection would be based strictly on merit, insisting that no player was guaranteed a place in the squad.
“The team is the most important player,” Queiroz said. “Nobody owns the national team shirt it must be earned.”
The former Real Madrid CF coach added that his technical team had begun assessing both domestic and foreign-based players as part of efforts to assemble a competitive squad.
Beyond the immediate tournament, Queiroz outlined plans to develop a sustainable pipeline of talent.
“This is a country of footballers,” he said. “My duty is to manage the present but also build the future a generation that can make Ghana not just a country of footballers, but a country of champions.”
Despite calls to match or surpass Ghana’s best-ever World Cup performance, he avoided making bold predictions.
“I promise hard work, not promises,” he said. “We go step by step first game, then second, then third.”
Quoting Nelson Mandela, he added: “We never lose we win or we learn.”
The jubilant atmosphere at the unveiling highlighted both belief and pressure, as Ghana’s World Cup campaign gathers momentum ahead of kickoff.
