Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz has accepted responsibility for Ghana’s 4-2 defeat to The Gambia, calling on fans and the public to spare the players from criticism. Ghana threw away a two-goal advantage to suffer defeat in Tuesday’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Queiroz defended his players, saying they gave their best despite the challenges facing the team. He urged critics to direct any blame for the result towards him. “I take the responsibility for this result. Please leave the players, because it’s not their responsibility. They tried their best,” Queiroz said. “Of course we make mistakes. But if we have to blame the result, please do it with me.”
The loss extended Ghana’s winless streak to eight games, a run Queiroz believes highlights the need for a wider assessment of the national team. “It is the game number eight. So this issue doesn’t start today, doesn’t start yesterday,” he said. “The last time Ghana won one game was eight games ago. So we have to start to think about that. There are a lot of things that the Ghana national team have to review.”
The Portuguese coach also pointed to the team’s injury problems, explaining that the absence of several players has resulted in constant changes to the squad. According to Queiroz, 24 players from Ghana’s wider national team pool have been unavailable, while eight first-team players picked up injuries around the latest international break.
“Every time we call the national team, we change eight, nine, 10 players,” he said. “Twenty-four players down. We have to make a research why this happened. Twenty-four players down, it’s not a normal situation.” However, Queiroz insisted that the injury situation should not be treated as an excuse for the defeat.
“Again, to all of you guys, this is not an excuse, this is not an explanation. We have to take the responsibility for the result,” he said. He also apologised to Ghanaian supporters following the disappointing result. “To all Ghanaian fans, we deeply regret this result, and we apologise for that,” Queiroz said.
