KANSAS CITY, Missouri : Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz said his young side lacked the composure and maturity needed to handle the pressure of knockout football after a 1-0 defeat to Colombia ended their World Cup campaign.
Jhon Arias scored the decisive goal in the 14th minute, shortly after Ghana were forced into an early defensive reshuffle when right back Marvin Senaya went off injured and was replaced by Alidu Seidu.
Queiroz admitted the disruption affected his team and said several players struggled to cope with the intensity of the occasion.
“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.
“It’s a very young team. We need more experience, we need time for some players to win what we call maturity.
“When you play this kind of competition at this level, you cannot only count on the enthusiasm of the youths.”
The veteran Portuguese coach acknowledged Colombia deserved the victory and said the early goal came at the worst possible moment for Ghana.
“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,” he said.
Queiroz added that although Ghana improved after halftime, they were unable to take control of the match as Colombia successfully protected their lead to secure a place in the Round of 16.
