Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz has praised his players for their fighting spirit despite Ghana’s 2-0 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire in the opening Group C match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Ghana suffered the defeat at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké on Thursday, September 24, but Queiroz believes the scoreline did not fully reflect his team’s attacking efforts.
The Portuguese coach said Côte d’Ivoire controlled more of the possession, but Ghana created several clear opportunities during the match.
According to him, the Black Stars had at least four good chances to score but failed to make them count.
“I’m very proud of my team, very proud of my players, the way they fought, the way they played and the way they fought against adversity,” Queiroz said at the post-match press conference.
He admitted that Ghana needed to improve their finishing after another match in which they failed to score.
Augustine, Benjamin Tetteh and Sibo were among the Ghana players who had opportunities to find the net, but the Black Stars could not convert their chances.
Queiroz said his team adopted a more direct approach as the match progressed and introduced Benjamin Tetteh and Felix Afena-Gyan in an effort to put pressure on the Ivorian defence.
He believes the players showed enough attacking intent to get back into the game, but lacked the final touch in front of goal.
The coach also urged the squad to quickly move on from the defeat and focus on their next assignment.
Ghana will host Côte d’Ivoire in the return fixture in Accra, where Queiroz is confident his side can respond.
He insisted that the defeat would not affect the team’s morale or belief.
“For us now, it is just recovery,” he said. “We have to recover our players and be focused for the next game and win the next game at home.”
