Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz has insisted that Ghana’s 4-2 defeat to The Gambia does not make him a loser, despite the disappointing nature of the result in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Ghana surrendered a two-goal lead at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, suffering a damaging home defeat that leaves the Black Stars without a point from their opening two Group C matches.
The Black Stars appeared to be in control after Ernest Nuamah converted from the penalty spot in the 27th minute before Felix Afena-Gyan doubled the advantage shortly after the break.
However, The Gambia staged a remarkable comeback, scoring four times to turn the game around and leave Ghana facing an early setback in their quest to qualify for the 2027 AFCON in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The defeat also extended Queiroz’s difficult start to his tenure with the Black Stars. The Portuguese coach has now won just one of his seven matches in charge, with four defeats and two draws.
Despite the growing pressure surrounding his position, when he was asked about resignation, Queiroz said that would be an easy response to the setback, but he does not believe his departure would automatically solve Ghana’s football problems. “For bad a result like this, the option to resign is the easiest solution,” Queiroz said after the game. “If you believe that if the coach resigns, you can change the situation of football in Ghana, I’ll be the first one to resign.
He added that any decision that affects his role will have to be determined by the Ghana Football Association and he’ll leave if Ghana football will be better without him.
“I don’t have that belief, but that is a decision that should be for the board of the federation to analyse. The future of the team is always in the hands of the association.”
Carlos Queiroz, Black Stars Head Coach
Queiroz Refuses To Be Defined By Defeat
Queiroz pointed to his extensive experience in international football as evidence that one defeat, regardless of how painful, should not define his record as a coach.
The former Portugal, Iran, Colombia and Egypt coach has worked at several major international tournaments and guided Egypt to the final of the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, where they lost to Senegal on penalties.
He also led Ghana at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, guiding the Black Stars into the knockout stage for the first time since their 2010 quarter-final appearance.
The defeat to The Gambia, however, was his first home game since taking charge and leaves Ghana with consecutive losses in the opening two matches of their AFCON qualifying campaign. “I still have, despite this loss, a top record of wins in international football,” Queiroz said. “This defeat doesn’t make me a loser.”
Rather than dwelling on the result, the experienced coach believes the defeat should serve as a lesson for both himself and his players.
“This defeat will be more for the lessons that we take from the game and what we have to do better. For me, you win or you learn. You learn the things that you should do better.”
Carlos Queiroz, Black Stars Head Coach
Coach Admits Ghana Must Improve
The 73-year-old Portuguese tactician also acknowledged that Ghana had done enough in the first half of the contest to believe victory was within reach.
The Black Stars controlled significant portions of the game and went into the latter stages of the first half with a two-goal advantage, only for the momentum to shift dramatically after the break.
“First of all, we dealt much better. We led in the game, we controlled the game and we scored two goals. At that moment, there was a belief from the staff, the players and even the fans that we could go for 3-0 or 4-0.”
Carlos Queiroz, Black Stars head coach
The Portuguese coach instead urged his team to focus on correcting the mistakes that allowed The Gambia to overturn the deficit.
“What we can do is be better prepared and better organised for the next games,” Queiroz said. “This is what’s important.”
With Ghana having started the qualifying campaign with two defeats, the Black Stars now face the challenge of recovering lost ground in the remaining matches.
Queiroz’s immediate task will be to ensure that the lessons from the collapse against The Gambia translate into improvement, as Ghana attempt to avoid missing out on a second successive AFCON tournament.
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