Ghana coach Queiroz says playing England ‘easiest’ World Cup game

Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz views facing England at the World Cup as the "easiest type of game" to prepare for, emphasizing that his players will be highly motivated. The Portuguese manager, at his fifth World Cup and first with Ghana, aims to lead the team to the knockout stage for the first time since 2010 with a victory over England in Boston.

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In football, four years is like a century, so I don’t even remember where that was.

Queiroz, who previously managed Iran and suffered a 6-2 defeat to England in the 2022 World Cup, dismissed the relevance of past results. "Memories don't win games, so tomorrow will be another story," he stated. He stressed that while reputations matter in the press, they do not influence outcomes on the field.

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We win or we learn. We learned a couple of lessons that day.

"Everybody is fully switched on and everybody wants to perform well," Queiroz said of playing a strong opponent like England. He highlighted the need to "moderate the enthusiasm" and focus on collective effort. "Whatever happens, we need to stick together and fight together over 90 full minutes," he urged.

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Memories don’t win games, so tomorrow will be another story.

Drawing a comparison between the two nations, Queiroz declared, "We know they have the three lions on their shirt, but we come from Ghana and have 33 million lions… to fight for this game." He also mentioned the potential return of midfielder Thomas Partey and a late decision on goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi.

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This is the easiest type of match, because when you’re about to play against England, France or Germany, you don’t need to say anything to the players. They’re fully motivated.