Ghana's FIFA World Cup squad looks built for a very Carlos Queiroz tournament -- less improvisation, more compression; less romance, more survival.
That's not to say there isn't talent here -- Iñaki Williams, Ernest Nuamah, of course, Antoine Semenyo -- but the defining feature of this Black Stars is not artistry.
Instead, the World Cup, with this coach, with these players, should present a tension between Ghana's footballing instincts -- emotions, occasionally chaotic matches, moments of inspiration -- and the cold managerial logic of a coach who has spent his career trying to prevent volatility.
"The final product is to defend well, avoid goals," said Queiroz during his time as assistant head coach to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, working with players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs.
"If we need to defend with 10 players behind the ball, we are going to do that."
The GFA sees to have turned to Queiroz not as a head coach to liberate and reveal the depths of quality in this squad, but to organise the disorder left by his predecessors and give the West Africans their best chance of reaching the knockouts since 2010.
Mohammed Kudus -- the team's best improvisor, their escape artist -- misses out after an injury setback with Tottenham Hotspur.
His absence feels symbolic. In a sense, Kudus was representative of the Ghana Queiroz is leaving behind; intuitive, instinctive, explosive, capable of rescuing structureless fixtures through individual force.
He scored twice against South Korea at the 2022 World Cup, giving Ghana a first win at the tournament in over 12 years, then nearly dragged them through the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with a double against Egypt, and became the trump card in a team that too often looked one transition away from brilliance or collapse.
Ghana's recent history, however, has been defined less by moments of brilliance but by an inability to control what happens after them.
At the 2022 World Cup, under Otto Addo, they were exhilarating and unstable in equal measure. There were five goals in three group games, but they also shipped seven (only Serbia and Costa Rica conceded more).
Matches stretched around them; they competed against Portugal, before unravelling, surged forward against South Korea, then almost lost all control entirely, before old ghosts returned from the penalty spot against Uruguay and both were dumped out.
Then, Chris Hughton stripped the team of attacking spontaneity, while failing to address that same structural fragility.
AFCON 2023 became a slow-motion disaster movie. They conceded a 92nd-minute winner against Cape Verde, twice let the lead slip against Egypt, and yet still appeared in contention for the knockouts before letting in two Mozambique goals in stoppage time to draw 2-2.
This was bad, almost as bad as the 3-2 defeat by Comoros that cost them progression from the group stage at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon. Scars run deep in this squad.
This is the landscape that Queiroz walks into; there's talent, stronger opponents can be frightened at times, but emotionally they're porous, and tactically they are unstable.
Ghana do not need another conductor of passion, pouring kerosene on the flames, they need an engineer of restraint.
Queiroz's international managerial career -- Egypt, South Africa, Iran -- has often resembled the work of a political negotiator entering unstable states; secure the perimeter, establish discipline, survive long enough for belief to blossom.
His reputation as a defensive, conservative coach misses the deeper meaning though. He's not ideological about possession, pressing or passing. He's ideological about vulnerability, about hiding it; studying where games fall apart, and trying to seal those fractures before they appear.
"We need to defend properly and avoid the other team scoring goals as much as we can," he said during his time at United, "and always score one more goal than the other teams to win the game."
He rejects the old labels entirely, insisting recently that football is not about attacking or defensive coaches, but only 'winning coaches'. This matters to a man accustomed to leading the underdogs; he doesn't seek domination, he manages fear -- fear of transition, fear of space, fear of emotional collapse -- and opportunity.
The World Cup with Ghana will be his fifth, equalling ex-Nigeria head coach Bora Milutinovic and moving one appearance behind former South Africa boss Carlos Alberto Parreira. The teams have changed, the flags have changed, the anthems have changed, but the method has remained recognisable.
With Iran he built one of the most tactically disciplined national sides outside UEFA or CONMEBOL. The team didn't have supreme talent, but they had structure. This roadmap allowed the team to see the path they were on, believe in the destination, and grow as they walked it together.
In 2014, they held Nigeria 0-0, frustrated Argentina for almost an entire match before Lionel Messi found a way through in stoppage time, and only unravelled in the second half against Bosnia and Herzegovina when chasing the game.
Four years later, in Russia, they beat Morocco, drew with Portugal, and only narrowly lost to Spain... each of whom had far superior individual talents than Team Melli. No other team were eliminated in the group stage with a better defensive record.
Queiroz's Iran didn't try to control matches through possession. Instead, they focused on controlling the emotion, the temperature. Matches became narrow corridors, blocks of 15 minutes, space disappeared, time evaporated, opponents found themselves growing anxious, and results were eked out here and there.
It's not a forecast that will set the pulses racing, but perhaps Queiroz's Egypt represents the clearest tactical blueprint for what Ghana may become. The Pharaohs reached the AFCON final through defensive compression, strategic suffering, and the individual class of Mohamed Salah.
Switching between a 4-3-3 and a 4-1-4-1 they pressed towards the touchlines, neutralised the middle of the park, and weren't afraid to drop deep into stifling, populated low blocks. This wasn't passive defending but control of space, restriction of opportunity.
Queiroz's teams rarely chase the ball helter skelter, but they channel it. The central striker curving his pressing run, wingers recovering narrow, midfielders moving in synchronised lines. Possession isn't hunted at every opportunity, it's guided towards pre-set traps.
It was a similar story with Iran, with Queiroz's finest hour arguably coming as the Asian heavyweights defeated Wales 2-0 in Qatar to register their first ever competitive victory over European opponents.
Without Kudus, the team's focus and strength can more readily become controlled transition football. Thomas Partey becomes the team's emotional thermostat where, in Queiroz's system, he will adopt the role of a stabiliser, the organiser, the decider.
Players like Elisha Owusu and Kwasi Sibo can become vital because Queiroz values midfielders who preserve structure rather than those who seek freedom, while Jordan Ayew can also come into his own.
Often criticised for his lack of consistent goal threat, he now becomes indispensable; coaches like Queiroz trust players who understand tactical sacrifice.
Semenyo can be purpose-built for Queiroz's tournament football, even an upgrade on what Salah offered his Egypt. The Manchester City man is powerful, direct, aggressive in duels, devastating when attacking open space, and will arrive at the tournament in fine form.
Williams stretches defensive lines vertically, offering an immediate outlet, while the likes of Nuamah, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Abdul Fatawu can quickly convert defensive recoveries into sharp attacks.
Queiroz knows that underdogs rarely receive enough possession to build beautiful attacks consistently. Instead, they must rely on transitions and second balls. He has the players to do this.
The defenders available should suit a compressed game and crowded penalty areas, with the likes of Alexander Djiku, Mumin, Seidu and Jerome Opoku all more comfortable out of possession.
The return of former Chelsea left back Abdul Rahman Baba is one of the more intriguing subplots of the squad; Queiroz has often used asymmetrical fullbacks, one who advances carefully, the other remaining deep. Baba - now 31 - could still offer the Black stars progression from deep when the situation allows.
Don't expect possession against England, where Ghana will try to make the match uncomfortable -- emotionally and aesthetically -- where a compact 4-5-1 will look to stymie the Three Lions' creators.
Against Croatia, it will be a similar story: deny rhythm, crowd the centre, force circulation wide, survive with patience and control, wait for those opportunities of transition.
The Panama game offers something different. Ghana will be urged to take control, with Partey's ball-playing set to be key, and Queiroz must identify the cold heads in his quad who can avoid emotional overextension. In Semenyo, he already has his would-be match-winner.
Queiroz plus tactics plus squad makes Ghana's World Cup campaign culturally fascinating. This won't be the Black Stars of abundance; drama, improvisation, collapses, comebacks.
They've appointed a man who brings the opposite philosophy; slowing games down psychologically, dousing the emotional temperature with chilled asaana, forging survival units from international underdogs.
He's not there to extinguish Ghana's fire completely, he's there to contain it, shape it.
