Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz praised his players for executing their game plan perfectly after earning a hard-fought 0-0 draw against England in Group L on Tuesday.
The Black Stars produced a disciplined defensive display to contain one of the tournament favourites, limiting England’s attacking opportunities despite long periods of possession. England controlled as much as 80 per cent of the ball during the first half but failed to register a shot on target before the break.
Queiroz said his side’s objective was to frustrate England and prevent them from finding solutions in attack.
“I am so proud of the way our players fought during the game and how committed they were to the game plan,” said Queiroz, who is appearing at his fifth World Cup as a coach.
“When you have to defend, you defend. I cannot play samba when they play rock and roll. The goal was exactly to finish the first half with the England team frustrated and without solutions.”
England continued to dominate possession after halftime, with Harry Kane forcing Ghana’s goalkeeper into action before Nico O’Reilly struck the crossbar late on. However, the African side remained organised and resilient to secure a valuable point.
The draw leaves Ghana on four points following their opening 1-0 victory over Panama and puts them on the brink of qualification for the Round of 32.
“The first objective has been achieved because we are now very close to qualifying for the second round,” Queiroz said.
The former Manchester United assistant manager also believes his team proved they could compete with the world’s best, describing England as one of the leading contenders for the title.
“My humble opinion is that England can be candidates to win the World Cup,” he said. “But this result is an achievement for us. When they went into halftime, they knew they didn’t have solutions to beat us, and that was when we started to grow and control parts of the game.”
Queiroz felt both teams had chances to claim victory but admitted a draw was ultimately a fair outcome.
“We could have scored and England could have scored as well. In the end, I think a draw is a fair result.”
