Carlos Queiroz believes Ghana’s World Cup journey has entered a far more demanding phase after the Black Stars secured qualification for the knockout rounds, where they will face Colombia in a round-of-32 clash.
Ghana finished third in Group L following a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Philadelphia, a result that saw both teams advance to the next stage but set them on different paths in the tournament.
Croatia claimed second place after Petar Sucic opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a long-range strike, becoming the first player to break through Ghana’s defence at the competition.
The Black Stars responded in the second half when Derrick Luckassen converted from a set piece after VAR ruled that Kwasi Sibo had not affected the play.
However, Croatia regained control late in the match as Nikola Vlasic struck in the 83rd minute from a corner to seal victory.
Despite the defeat, Queiroz sees the next round as the true test of World Cup ambition, warning his players that the margin for error has disappeared.
“I have just told my players that the real world championship starts in the next round,” Queiroz said after the game.
“The group stage is the warming-up and qualification for the next round is like a credit card but now you have to start paying. Everything goes to the winner, every game is drama, nobody can hide.”
