Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz managed his first game as Black Stars head coach on Tuesday evening in Ghana's draw against Wales.

Caleb Yirenkyi came off the bench to score the opening goal before Wales equalised late in the game to extend Ghana's winless run across all competitions.

After the game, Queiroz faced the media speaking about his thoughts and the assessment of his team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On the match vs Wales

First of all, I think it was a very exciting and very good match. This was Wales’ goal — to bring this game as part of their 150-year celebration. I think the fans must be happy with the football they saw. Both teams tried to win. Very active.

I’m very proud of my players. They gave everything to win the game. We let it slip in the last minutes. It was in our pocket. But this is also time to learn. We don’t learn from the draw itself, but we learn that when we are winning 1-0, there is no way we can let it slip from our pocket. Unfortunately, it happens. We did good things. I was happy with the players and the performance. Some players were playing together for the first time. We must remember this was only the first full training session with the whole team together.

Congratulations to my players. We just need to keep working hard. We are ready for the main match against Panama.

On positives going into the World Cup

We know that when our players have to make decisions, they could do it faster, more efficiently, and with more confidence — especially when we go forward and have opportunities to attack. Today, we still saw moments where they could go, but they lost a fraction of a second on the forward pass and we had to start everything again. With more training, more effort, and better chemistry, they will be more confident to make those decisions to go forward.

On staying beyond the World Cup to win AFCON

Let’s leave the future in God’s hands. The most important thing for us now is to focus on the World Cup. We have one major goal. We have to play one game with three parts of 90 minutes. Every part is 90 minutes — 90, 90, 90. At the end of 270 minutes, we must be guaranteed qualification for the second round. That is the main goal and the main priority.

We have to play this 270-minute game — first half, second half, third half — and qualify. When we reach the second round, the show starts. That’s when it’s win or lose. That’s when the real World Cup starts: the knockout stage.

On Caleb Yirenkyi playing in midfield

He is a great player. He has a great future. He is still young and has a lot to learn. At this level, everything is so fast. Young players need talent and experience. I believe that with more experience, he can become one of the best players in the national team.

On not having the full squad on time

They only arrived from London yesterday after sorting out visa issues. We’ve been training with nine to eleven players, and only yesterday did we have one full training session. We assembled the team and I asked them to do a couple of simple things.

On what pleased him most

To be straightforward: what pleased me most was the way the players responded to my instructions and the game plan. They were excellent. They followed, respected, and trusted the plan. Just one example — the centre-backs cooperated very well. They were brilliant. They followed the basic rules: calm, confident. So, we have a good starting point. Two or three training sessions were decisive. With ten days of training next week, we will make a lot of progress. We will be much more consistent and efficient.

On how the team defended

That’s the name of the game, my friend. I’ve seen many great teams — from Bayern Munich to others — win with 70% possession. But the game is not about possession. The game is about the skill to put the ball in the net, defend your goal, and win the game. Some teams enjoy possession. Others play direct, create combinations, score, and win. This is a winning business. That’s it. They call it football, but at the end of the day, it’s a winning business. The way we win, I don’t care. I just want to win.

If we have 80% possession and lose, I don’t care. I go mad if we attack 80% and lose. If we defend 80% — quality defending, eyes on the ball, always looking to score — and we win, I’m happy. Because when I’m happy, it means the fans are happy, the people are happy, the country is happy.

On playing for the fans

We play to make them happy. If we don’t win, they’re not happy. We cannot be happy, no matter how attacking or beautiful we play, if we don’t win. Nobody cares about that. I’ve never seen books praising teams that play fantastic football but don’t get results.

On Thomas Partey being booed

I’m not surprised. We live in a weird world. I’m never tired of saying it. You should be concerned with how this modern world works — where anyone can say or do whatever they want with total impunity.

Nobody should be judged or condemned before a court makes a decision. The presumption of innocence must apply to everyone, starting with you, the press. But you publish things before the court. That’s your problem. You are responsible for creating this culture of impunity.

I hear barbaric things said about me, about players, about coaches. But I can’t shut myself off. It’s the modern world. I have to accept it. But honestly, I don’t like it. I have the right to say I don’t like it.

I don’t like seeing this energy of impunity on social media and in the media — that you can do and say anything you want. That is the biggest challenge of the modern world, in my humble opinion. But that doesn’t sell newspapers, and you don’t care about that. You care about what sells newspapers.

On work needed before Panama

One brain is better than zero, two better than one, three better than two. As soon as we land in the United States, we want to do as much work as possible before the game against Panama.

On playing another game before the World Cup

Yes, we will play one more game in the United States before we face Panama.

On being close to players

I need to be close to them; they need to be close to me. We need straightforward cooperation — open mind, open heart — to improve and progress. It’s not time for big changes. It’s time to fine-tune what we’ve been doing well, to make them better. That’s my goal when we arrive: correct details and build the chemistry you saw today.

On Wales

They fight a lot. They are a very good team, very fit, and they move a lot. The boys were able to stop them. We knew how they start games. We were ready for the first 10 minutes. We knew after 10 minutes they would slow down. Our goal was to frustrate them, block passing lanes, not allow them to go forward. After that, the game was in our hands. If we go 2-0 up, the target is to manage the game.

On Ghana not winning in last 7 attempts

It’s a fact. We did our best to keep the result. We also have good qualities. With a little more experience and maturity, in the last minute and a half when we had a free kick in Wales’ area, if we were smarter and wiser, we could have put the ball into the box and not lost it. This is about game management.

But credit to Wales too — it was a good attacking move. Quick ball, good cross, and our defensive positioning in the box wasn’t the best at that moment. It happens.

You’re right, we did not win. We know that. We are the first ones unhappy because our wish was to start this journey with a win. But it’s also a challenge. To win, you have to score at least one goal. Today it didn’t happen. We have to admit it, accept it, and make it better.