Carlos Queiroz believes Ghana emerged from Saturday’s defeat to Croatia with valuable lessons that could prove decisive in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup.The Black Stars suffered a 2-1 defeat in Philadelphia but still secured a place in the Round of 32, where they will meet Colombia.Rather than dwell on the result, Queiroz focused on the progress his side has made since he took charge earlier this year.”I learned a lot in this game,” he said.”The best thing about this game is what we learned. We learned a lot in terms of our evolution and our progress.”The former Real Madrid coach explained that the match gave him a clearer understanding of his squad and allowed him to test a new tactical system.”We have a clear picture about the performance of some players and what we can do differently in the next games.”Queiroz switched Ghana to a 4-4-2 formation after half-time, with the Black Stars producing a much-improved display that eventually led to Derrick Luckassen’s equaliser.”It was the first time in 45 minutes that we played 4-4-2 with two forwards. We didn’t have much time to work on it, but the players did well.”The Portuguese believes there is even greater potential in the system as his players become more familiar with it.”With a couple of adjustments, we can be even better, as we showed in the second half.”Looking ahead to the knockout stage, Queiroz reminded his players that qualification was only the beginning.”We win, or we learn. Today we learned.””The real World Cup starts in the next game.”Ghana will now turn their attention to Colombia, knowing victory would secure a place in the Round of 16.



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