PHILADELPHIA, PA — Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz insists his players are refusing to look beyond Saturday’s final Group L game against Croatia, despite the prospect of Thomas Partey again being unavailable in Canada, depending on where the Black Stars finish in the group.
The West Africans will play their Round of 32 fixture in Toronto if they finish second in their group, where Partey would again miss out having been denied entry to enter the territory ahead of the Black Stars’ opener against Panama.
A Federal High Court upheld the decision to deny him entry following an appeal from Ghana. The 33-year-old is set to stand trial in the United Kingdom next June for seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations from four different women. The midfielder has pleaded not guilty.
Queiroz has denied that Partey’s availability, or otherwise, is a factor for Ghana ahead of their decider with Croatia.
“A game of football is so difficult that we cannot play two or three at the same time, we just have to focus on Croatia, get a result, play good football, fight more, be better,” he told journalists on Friday.
“When the results come at the end of the game, we can then make our decisions depending on whether we’re first, second or third.
“Before the group stages, all coaches would take any of these positions if you could guarantee it for them, but the important thing is to play one game at a time, and so we’re not focusing on any other games that are outside the pitch.”
If Ghana win Group L, which would require England failing to beat Panama, they would face a third-placed team in Atlanta on July 1, whereas if they finish as runners-up, they will be destined for Toronto on July 2 to face the runners-up from Group K.
However, if they finish third in their group, and win their Last 32 game against the Group K winners in Kansas City on July 3, they would then advance to a Last 16 fixture in Vancouver on July 7.
Despite the Canadian authorities referring to their own immigration documentation and statutes when explaining why the decision to deny Partey entry had been upheld, Queiroz shared his ongoing disbelief at the situation.
“We’re just focusing on playing one game at a time, and the question [about Partey’s availability] should be addressed to the authorities of Canada,” Queiroz added. “Our job is to respect the decisions they make.
“I don’t agree with it, but only the press have the power to ask the right questions of the people [who make the decisions], to ask: ‘Why in the World Cup, has one of our players been stopped from travelling to Canada?’
“We don’t know, ask them, because we don’t know the reason.”
With four points from their opening two matches, Ghana are on the cusp of the knockouts for the first time since 2010, with only defeat by Croatia and an unlikely series of results across the other groups denying them the prospect of advancing as one of the best eight third-placed teams at least.
Despite their success so far, Quieroz is adamant that his team must take nothing for granted against Croatia and maintain the standards they’ve set so far.
“We have a game where we must play our best again,” the head coach concluded. “We’ll fight as much as possible to get the best result, which would be to be number one.
“Whether we’re two or three though, it doesn’t matter. We’ll respect Croatia, as they respect us, and both teams will look to achieve their best.
“Whatever happens outside of that is not part of our business.”
