KANSAS CITY: Ghana’s lack of experience and inability to stay calm under pressure were decisive factors in the 1-0 defeat by Colombia that sealed their World Cup elimination, manager Carlos Queiroz said after the round-of-32 loss.
Jhon Arias scored Colombia’s only goal in the 14th minute, shortly after the African team were forced into a defensive reshuffle when right-back Marvin Senaya went off injured and was replaced by Alidu Seidu.
* “I felt really quickly that some of the Ghanaian players were fearful. They were not cool, calm, and collected when the pressure hit,” Queiroz said.
Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz. — Reuters
* “It’s a very young team. We need more experience, we need time for some players to win what we call maturity,” the 73-year-old Portuguese manager added.
* “When you play this kind of competition at this level, you cannot only count on the enthusiasm of the youths,” he said.
* Queiroz said Colombia were the better team on the night and deserved to move forward.
* “The goal came too early for us … It took some time for us to adjust and recover from that substitution, and the goal came at the moment we were trying to resettle our team,” Queiroz said.
* The Ghana coach acknowledged his side improved in the second half, but were never in control of the match. — Reuters
