Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Vice President George Afriyie has cast doubt on Carlos Queiroz‘s suitability to lead the Black Stars beyond the immediate future, insisting Ghana should invest in a younger, more driven coach capable of building a lasting legacy.
The Portuguese tactician was appointed after Otto Addo’s dismissal on a short-term agreement, inheriting the national team with less than three months to prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Despite the difficult circumstances surrounding his appointment and criticism over his pragmatic, defense-first style, Queiroz steered Ghana into the Round of 32, ending the country’s 16-year wait for a place in the World Cup knockout rounds since the memorable 2010 campaign in South Africa.
While acknowledging the value Queiroz brought during a turbulent period, Afriyie believes the veteran coach is not the ideal figure to oversee Ghana’s next phase.
Speaking on Adom TV, the former GFA administrator argued that teams built primarily around defensive football rarely achieve sustained success and questioned whether Queiroz possesses the ambition required to drive the Black Stars towards major honours.
“No coach who adopts defensive tactics wins trophies. If we keep Carlos Queiroz for one or two years, we will eventually sack him. What motivation does he have to win a trophy for Ghana?” Afriyie questioned.
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He further suggested that Ghana should be looking for a manager eager to cement his reputation rather than one approaching the twilight of his coaching career.
“If he were working for the government, he would already be retired. We need a challenging and ambitious coach, someone who wants to achieve something in his career, prove something, and not someone who is nearing the end of his career.”
Afriyie also clarified comments he made before Queiroz’s appointment, explaining that his earlier call for an experienced coach was driven purely by the urgency of the situation facing the Black Stars.
With the World Cup looming and little time to implement major changes, he believed Ghana required a seasoned figure capable of stabilising the team rather than embarking on a long-term rebuild.
“I told Ghanaians that we needed an experienced coach to take us through the situation we were in because we had little time. But people did not understand what I meant,” he said.
According to Afriyie, the GFA should have used that period as a temporary solution before embarking on a comprehensive search for a coach with the vision and ambition to shape the future of the national team.
The debate over Queiroz’s future comes as Ghana shifts its attention to qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The Black Stars have been drawn in a challenging Group C alongside Gambia, Côte d’Ivoire and Somalia, with the campaign scheduled to begin in September.
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The Ghana Football Association is expected to decide in the coming days whether Queiroz will remain at the helm for the next chapter of the Black Stars’ journey.
