After working with eight national teams across his career, Queiroz said the Ghana job stands above them all — not because the resources are the greatest, but because the expectations are. Ghanaians don't want progress reports. They want wins. The welcome he received said everything about the weight of that expectation. Fans poured into Kotoka International Airport with music, chants and cultural displays, draping him in a Kente-inspired sash — a symbolic moment that blended tradition with the enormous pressure now resting on his shoulders. He arrives with serious credentials. He took South Africa to their first-ever World Cup in 2002, guided Portugal to the knockout rounds in 2010 — including a famous 7-0 demolition of North Korea — spent years turning Iran into one of the most disciplined sides in international football, and led Egypt all the way to an AFCON final. The résumé is hard to argue with. But the clock is already ticking. The preparation window is brutally short — roughly two weeks to assess players, build a squad, and instil a system before one of the biggest tournaments on the planet. Ghana face Panama, England and Croatia in Group L — no easy draw by any stretch. Queiroz wasn't making grand promises though. His message was grounded and direct — hard work over hype, step by step progress, and a firm belief that nobody is handed the national shirt; it has to be earned. He even reached for Mandela to close things out: "We never lose — we win or we learn." Whether Ghana wins or learns at the 2026 World Cup, one thing is clear — Queiroz walked into this knowing exactly what he signed up for.