Carlos Queiroz arrived in the press room at Boston Stadium on Monday afternoon in the form of a man enjoying himself.
With Ghana 24 hours away from one of the biggest matches of his long managerial life, the 73-year-old reached for the line of the day midway through his opening remarks, calling on the support of each Ghanaian.
“We know how England play. They have excellent players, they have the experience of their Premier League. They have intensity but we know how we can control this. We know they have three lions but we have 33 million lions.”
Despite facing the fourth-ranked team in the world, Queiroz is relishing the opportunity of meeting the best players in the world.
“We have a great match in front of us. This is what we are looking for all our lives, to be in the right environment and at the right time and to play against the best players in the world.”
The maths of Group L sharpens the moment. Both Ghana and England arrive at Foxboro on three points, separated only by goal difference after Wednesday’s opening round.
Thomas Tuchel’s side eased past Croatia 4-2 in Dallas while Ghana ground out a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto courtesy of Caleb Yirenkyi’s 95th-minute winner.
A win for either nation on Tuesday all but guarantees passage to the round of 32 with a fixture to spare and likely settles the question of who tops the group.
“This is simple. We are in this competition for points. It is to get the points in order to qualify. That is the most important thing for us.”
Remarkably, this will only be the second meeting between the two nations at senior level. The lone previous encounter was a 1-1 friendly draw at Wembley in March 2011, when Andy Carroll opened the scoring just before half-time and Asamoah Gyan equalised in the 90th minute in front of an 80,000-strong crowd.
Tuesday in Foxboro will be the first competitive meeting between the Black Stars and the Three Lions, and Queiroz refused to be drawn into using either that night at Wembley or his more painful subsequent history against England as a guide to anything.
The Portuguese trainer’s heaviest defeat as a World Cup head coach came against England in Qatar 2022, when his Iran side were beaten 6-2 in their group-stage opener. Asked about it on Monday, he waved it away with a smile.
“In football, four years is like a century, so I don't even remember where that was. I was not defeated. In football, we never lose. We win or we learn. We learned a couple of lessons that day.”
There was a more pointed message tucked inside the philosophy.
“The reputations and prestige of results in the past are significant when they are written in the press, but they cannot win games. Memories don't win games, so tomorrow will be another story.”
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England, of course, have plenty of present-tense pedigree to back up the headline numbers. They remain unbeaten in eight previous World Cup matches against African opposition (5W, 3D).
Harry Kane, on the other hand, sits just one goal away from passing Gary Lineker as the country’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament.
But Thomas Tuchel’s side conceded twice to Croatia in the opener and were carved open more than once, and Queiroz, who has studied their full opening match in fine detail, believes there are angles to attack.
“This is the easiest type of match, because when you're about to play against England, France or Germany, you don't need to say anything to the players. They're fully motivated. What we have to do in this type of game is to try and moderate the enthusiasm, but mainly we need to do work together.
"This is the most important thing tomorrow. Whatever happens, we need to stick together and fight together over 90 full minutes.
“We know England have their strong points but we have our own qualities. We need to be in the game for 90 minutes at full throttle,” he added.
On personnel, the Black Stars are set to welcome back their most influential midfielder. Thomas Partey, who was denied entry to Canada for the Panama opener, has trained fully in Smithfield since the squad crossed back into the United States and is expected to be recalled to the starting eleven.
The other selection question hovers over goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who has been working back from a groin injury picked up against Panama. Queiroz confirmed a final call will be made after Monday evening’s session, with Benjamin Asare on standby to make his maiden World Cup start.
Queiroz signed off with the kind of line his players, and a country counting down to kickoff, will want to hear.
“Trust me, huge entertainment on the pitch. We belong to the entertainment business. We are going to fight, play and enjoy. I guarantee you the match will be in the memories and hearts of people when it finishes.”
Ghana faces England on Tuesday, June 23, at the Boston Stadium with top spot up for grabs.
