Carlos Queiroz resigned as Ghana's head coach two days after their elimination from the 2026 World Cup, ending his three-month tenure with the Black Stars [1, 2, 3]. Ghana lost 1-0 to Colombia in the Round of 32 on July 3, with Jhon Arias scoring the only goal in the 14th minute [4, 5]. The match saw Ghana’s right-back Marvin Senaya leave injured, replaced by Alidu Seidu [4, 5].
Queiroz, 73, had been appointed Ghana coach in April, 72 days before the tournament, replacing Otto Addo [1, 3]. He coached the team in just one friendly before the World Cup, preparing the squad that finished third in Group L after a win over Panama, a draw with England, and a loss to Croatia [1, 3]. Ghana qualified to the knockout stage as one of the eight best third-placed teams [1, 2, 3, 6].
Ahead of the knock-out match, Queiroz made four changes to Ghana’s starting lineup and brought in goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi for the injured Benjamin Asare, relying on Ati-Zigi’s experience [7, 8]. Colombia made two changes to their starting eleven [7, 8]. Queiroz described Colombia as "a good team, not perfect," and Ghana as "a great team, not perfect," stressing the expected intensity of the game [9, 10]. He said Ghana aimed to "impose their own style and find weak links" but noted the margin for error was zero in the knockout round [9, 10].
After the defeat, Queiroz attributed Ghana’s loss to "lack of experience and maturity under pressure." He said, "I felt really quickly that some of the Ghanaian players were fearful. They were not cool, calm, and collected when the pressure hit." He added, "It's a very young team. We need more experience, we need time for some players to win what we call maturity" and "When you play this kind of competition at this level, you cannot only count on the enthusiasm of the youths" [4, 5]. Despite the setback, he praised the players’ fighting spirit, saying, "There's nothing that you can build or you can buy. It is something that is in their blood and they are really great fighters and I'm very proud to be their coach" [6].
Queiroz also addressed past rumors from Colombian media, denying reports of a poor relationship with senior players during his time coaching Colombia from 2019-2020. He said, "I can say that I truly enjoyed and loved my work with the Colombian team" [9, 10].
Ghana started the tournament as one of 10 African nations, with nine advancing from the group stage, a record number. Only Morocco progressed past the Round of 16 so far in the 2026 World Cup [6]. Queiroz stressed Ghana’s duty to maintain Africa’s hope in the tournament, stating, "We have to add another African team to the next round. That's our duty" [6].
Forward Jordan Ayew said before the match, "In football, every game you start is 50-50... We will definitely make Africa proud and Ghana proud" [6].
Queiroz’s resignation was announced on July 5, closing a brief but high-profile stint as Ghana’s coach following their World Cup exit [1, 2, 3].
