World Cup 2026: Roger de Sa opens up about Ghana’s challenges behind elimination

Former Ghana assistant coach Roger de Sa has opened up about the difficulties he and Carlos Queiroz’s technical team faced while preparing the Black Stars for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The South African coach joined Queiroz’s backroom staff in April, just months before the tournament, as Ghana looked to revive their fortunes after a difficult run of results.

Despite making a positive start under the new technical team, the Black Stars’ campaign came to an end in the Round of 32 following a narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia.

De Sa believes the biggest challenge was taking charge of a team that had endured a poor run of form and had little time to prepare for football’s biggest tournament.

Speaking on 947’s MSW, the former Orlando Pirates coach explained that changing the team’s mentality was a key priority upon arrival.

“I think when you are coaching, you’re always going to get different challenges along the way, and firstly for us was taking over a team which had gone six defeats in a row. I think that was the biggest challenge straight away,” De Sa said.

The former goalkeeper added that restoring a winning mentality was a priority, while also highlighting the difficulty of managing a squad made up almost entirely of players based outside Ghana.

“We were like ‘we have to turn it around’, objective number one would be to get a bit of a winning mentality, not a losing mentality and to choose a team that is 99 per cent based all over Europe, that’s a massive challenge,” he added.

The technical team’s late appointment meant they had limited time to implement their ideas and build cohesion ahead of the World Cup, with many of Ghana’s key players arriving from clubs across Europe.

Following the elimination, Queiroz and his backroom staff confirmed their decision to leave their roles as Ghana’s national team handlers, bringing an end to their short stint in charge of the Black Stars.