Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz praised his players for executing their game plan perfectly after holding World Cup favourites England to a hard-fought 0-0 draw in Group L on Tuesday.
Despite England dominating possession for long periods, Ghana remained disciplined defensively and restricted the Three Lions to very few clear-cut opportunities. The African side frustrated England throughout the contest, with neither team managing a shot on target during the first half.
Queiroz, appearing at his fifth World Cup as a coach, said his team deserved the result after sticking closely to their tactical approach.
“I am very proud of the way the players fought and how committed they were to the game plan,” said Queiroz. “When you have to defend, you defend. The objective was to make England frustrated and leave them without solutions, and we achieved that.”
England increased the pressure after the break, with captain Harry Kane forcing Ghana’s goalkeeper into action and Nico O’Reilly striking the crossbar late on. However, Ghana continued to defend resolutely while also creating a few promising opportunities of their own.
The draw leaves Ghana on four points following their opening victory over Panama and puts them on the verge of reaching the knockout stage.
“The first objective has been achieved because we are now very close to qualifying for the second round,” Queiroz said. “My players always believed they could compete against a team of England’s quality.”
The Portuguese coach also labelled England among the favourites to win the tournament but felt a draw was a fair outcome.
“In my opinion, England are candidates to win the World Cup,” he added. “But when they went into halftime, they knew they had not found a way to break us down. That gave us confidence and allowed us to grow into the match.
“We had chances to score and so did they. In the end, I think the draw was a fair result.”
