Ghana hires Queiroz ahead of World Cup campaign

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Ghana have appointed Carlos Queiroz as head coach of the senior national team, the Black Stars. The former Real Madrid, Manchester United, Portugal and Iran coach will lead Ghana’s campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Queiroz, 73, begins work immediately. Ghana play their first Group L match against Panama on June 17 at BMO Field in Toronto, before facing England on June 23 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Croatia on June 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Sources close to the GFA said the appointment is structured as a short-term arrangement through the World Cup and will be re-evaluated after the tournament.

“This is not just another job — it is a mission,” Queiroz said in a statement on the GFA website. “And I am ready to give everything of my experience and knowledge once again, in service of the game and the happiness of People.”

The appointment ends a two-week search that began when the GFA dismissed Otto Addo on March 30, hours after a 2-1 friendly loss to Germany in Stuttgart. That result was the Black Stars’ fourth consecutive-defeat in pre-tournament preparation, following losses to Japan, South Korea and Austria, the last of those a 5-1 defeat in Vienna. Addo, who had qualified Ghana for the tournament by winning eight and drawing one of ten qualifying matches, was fired 72 days before the World Cup’s opening ceremony.

GFA president Kurt Okraku disclosed that the association received over 600 applications in the first 24 hours after Addo’s departure, despite never issuing a public call for candidates.

Queiroz beat several prominent candidates to the job.

Slaven Bilic, the 57-year-old Croatian and former West Ham United manager, had emerged as a frontrunner after holding direct discussions with the GFA. Bilic managed Croatia at Euro 2008, reaching the quarterfinals, and spent two seasons in the Premier League with West Ham.

Herve Renard, who won the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015, was widely regarded as a leading contender. Reports indicate the GFA may be eyeing Renard for a longer-term role after the tournament, a factor that possibly influenced the decision to structure the initial appointment as a short-term contract.

Kwesi Appiah, currently managing Sudan and a former Black Stars head coach, was frequently mentioned. However, sources indicate his relationship with Okraku posed a significant obstacle. Tom Saintfiet, the Belgian coach who led Gambia to a historic AFCON quarterfinal in 2021, and Kim Lars Bjorkgren, a Swedish coach working within Ghana’s domestic setup, were also on the shortlist.

Queiroz brings extensive World Cup experience to the role, having taken charge of national teams at five FIFA World Cups.

Born in Mozambique in 1953, he first rose to prominence by coaching Portugal’s youth teams to consecutive FIFA U20 World Cup titles in 1989 and 1991, developing a generation that included Luis Figo and Rui Costa. He went on to manage Sporting CP, where he won the Portuguese Cup in 1995, before coaching the New York/New Jersey MetroStars and Japan’s Nagoya Grampus Eight.

At club level, his highest-profile roles were as head coach of Real Madrid in the 2003-04 season, where he won the Spanish Super Cup, and as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager at Manchester United across two stints from 2002 to 2003 and 2004 to 2008.

His first African coaching role came with South Africa. Appointed in 2000, he qualified Bafana Bafana for the 2002 FIFA World Cup by topping their CAF qualifying group, including a decisive late win over Mali. He resigned before the tournament after a disagreement with the South African Football Association.

He managed Portugal’s senior team from 2008 to 2010, leading them to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Portugal reached the Round of 16 and recorded a 7-0 victory over North Korea in the group stage.

His longest national team tenure was with Iran, where he served for nearly eight years between 2011 and 2019, making him the longest-serving coach in the country’s football history. He qualified Iran for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as unbeaten group winners and again for the 2018 tournament in Russia, where Iran drew 1-1 with Portugal and narrowly missed the knockout rounds in a group containing Spain and Portugal. He returned for a third World Cup with Iran in 2022 in Qatar, where the team beat Wales 2-0, but was eliminated in the group stage after a 6-2 loss to England and a 1-0 defeat to the United States.

Between those Iran stints, Queiroz managed Colombia from 2019 to 2020. Colombia finished first in their group at the 2019 Copa America with a perfect nine points, including a 2-0 win over Argentina, before exiting in the quarterfinals on penalties. Results declined during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, with home defeats to Uruguay (3-0) and Ecuador (6-1) ending his tenure.

His second African posting came with Egypt in September 2021. He guided the Pharaohs to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon, defeating Ivory Coast on penalties in the Round of 16, Morocco 2-1 in the quarterfinal and host nation Cameroon on penalties in the semifinal. Egypt lost to Senegal in the final, also on penalties. It was the first time Queiroz had led a national team to a major tournament final. Egypt subsequently lost a World Cup playoff to Senegal, again on penalties, and his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

He briefly managed Qatar in 2023, but that contract ended by mutual agreement after 12 matches. He was most recently serving as head coach of the Oman national team.

Ghana will be making their fifth World Cup appearance. The four-time AFCON champions reached the Round of 16 in 2006 on their tournament debut, the quarterfinals in 2010, and the group stage in 2014 and 2022.

The Black Stars failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, their first absence from the continental championship in 21 years. Their current squad includes Premier League players Mohammed Kudus of West Ham and Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth.

Ghana are scheduled to play friendlies against Mexico and Wales before the tournament. Queiroz will use those matches to assess his squad and finalize tactical preparations for the World Cup.

This post was originally published at ESPN