Fifa World Cup: Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz rues African limitations after Colombia loss
Only two teams from continent left standing, seven European teams, four from South America and three North Americans made it into last-16 draw
Carlos Queiroz believes African football is “far from” crowning its first World Cup winner, after his Ghana team were outplayed in their 1-0 last-32 defeat by Colombia in Kansas City on Saturday.
Of the record nine African sides that advanced from the group stage, only Morocco and Egypt survived the opening knockout round following penalty shoot-out victories over the Netherlands and Australia, respectively.
The Moroccans, semi-finalists in Qatar four years ago, swept aside Canada 3-0 in their last-16 tie to set-up a quarter-final in Boston against France, the team that eliminated them in the last four in 2022.
Appointed in April, after Otto Addo’s ill-starred two-year reign, former Real Madrid boss Queiroz has also managed South Africa and Egypt.
“African football is far from achieving its fate [of winning a World Cup], and a lot has to be done so that it can be at the level it deserves,” Portuguese Queiroz said.
“Football is not only about talent, it’s about having the environment to develop talent.
“There’s a lot of potential when you talk about footballers, but there are differences from European, South American, North African and Asian countries. All the continents are diverse but in Africa there are not the best facilities or coaches, or good pitches to practice on.”
