PHILADELPHIA, PA. -- In the aftermath of Ghana's 0-0 draw with England in their second World Cup game in Foxborough on Tuesday, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes was quick to identify where he'd seen the Black Stars' gameplan before.
The 51-year-old was transported back to the Nou Camp, 2008, when Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola's Barcelona - then at the peak of their powers - were neutralised by Sir Alex Ferguson's United.
The Red Devils would eliminate Barca in the second leg of their semifinal - Scholes scoring the only goal of the tie - before going on to dispatch Chelsea on penalties in the final.
"We had [Carlos] Queiroz, who was manager of Ghana, in the Nou Camp when we drew with Barcelona 0-0," Scholes said on his The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast on Wednesday. "It was a carbon copy, teams defending deep, no gaps, don't try and score a goal really.
"You might get the odd chance, as Ghana did, but aggressive, horrible to play against."
It's perhaps not a compliment in the traditional sense, but it may be the kind of compliment Queiroz values most. Ghana have not arrived at this World Cup to charm the neutrals, they've come to surprise, to compete, to frustrate, to believe... and, if possible, to win.
"At the end, I like to leave the pitch proud of myself and my players," Queiroz told journalists on Friday, "the work they did for the fans.
"When the fans are happy, we can be happy. We work in the entertainment business, and our job is to make people happy."
Queiroz has certainly done that, defeating Panama and holding England to take Ghana to the cusp of the knockouts, and as the Black Stars prepare for their meeting with Croatia, the Portuguese coach is attempting to summon the same spirit that defined one of United's most famous European nights.
This is discipline without apology, aggression without recklessness, and Queiroz's brand of 'attacking defence' which left the England players bedraggled and out of ideas at the end of their bout earlier this week.
Gary Neville has long credited Queiroz with sharpening United tactically in Europe, giving them the nous and the structure to be able to navigate those tough away ties and opponents who will likely have greater possession.
It's a DNA that is now being infused into this unlikely Ghana side, yet Queiroz rejects the idea that his team are simply defensive.
"We talk about defence and attack, but I only have one way to play the game," he continued. "We play to win, and that is what we'll do [against Croatia].
"We want to express ourselves, with the freedom to enjoy and play good football. During the 90 minutes, we need concentration, resilience, to not lose for one second [the ambition] in the mind that we wish to score."
For Queiroz, Ghana's play is not about parking the bus. It is about purpose; every drill, every shape, every passage of pressure is designed around the same objective.
"All of our training sessions are to score, to create opportunities to score, to keep the ball and win. We hope to express this kind of football better and more consistently, and at the end, to get the result to make people happy.
"My job is to make people happy by winning, I leave the tactical defensive analysis for your entertainment."
For a country that has endured years of frustration with the Black Stars - early Africa Cup of Nations exits, missed opportunities, managerial mis-appointments, and 16 years away from the World Cup knockouts - Queiroz has brought clarity.
It may not be romantic, it may not appear a natural or glorious fit for a nation who consider themselves to be African football royalty, but it has given Ghana an identity, a direction...and a chance.
Queiroz points to the example of his own United experience, as well as more recent examples, to demonstrate how great sides need to be proactive in their defence to navigate the toughest assignments.
"I see [Manchester] City against Arsenal," he continued, gesturing towards his star forward Antoine Semenyo, "and sometimes they're not even able to leave the 18-yard box.
"Against Barcelona [in 2008], I was asked 'Don't you think [United] defend too deep?' - but I said that we only don't defend behind the goalline because the referee doesn't allow it!
"When you're in the Champions League, or trying to win the World Cup, man, you have to do everything in your power to win the game. Everything."
This is the Queiroz doctrine. Winning football is not defined by possession (Ghana had only 21 percent against England) or aesthetic approval from Accra. He knows that control can come with or without the ball.
He may have attempted to put distance between Ghana's achievements in Boston and that famous night in the Nou Camp 18 years ago, but the thread of his footballing philosophy underpins both evenings.
"It's not really the same," he told ESPN. "At the time, we knew they played a different style of football - the famous tiki taka of Barcelona.
"But what we did with United, that was the last century. With all due respect for your question, the [commonality] is experience.
"It's about experience in the game, my 40-something years of experience. My duty is to put those 40 years of football into every single decision."
The echoes were clear to Scholes, because he was there, while Neville understands it having played under Queiroz.
"Against Barcelona, he put a mat, like a yoga mat, in the middle of the pitch in a small area and told Scholes or [Michael] Carrick to always stand on the mat when we're attacking or defending," Neville recalled. "He literally did exactly that with [Thomas] Partey.
"[The Nou Camp] was a defensive masterclass orchestrated by Carlos. I've never seen such attention to detail. We rehearsed time and time again, sometimes walking through the tactics slowly with the ball in our hands. "We learned how to control games under him."
If this was a glimpse of Queiroz behind the scenes, the results have been clear to see at this World Cup.
"People talk about defensive football, but it's wrong," the former Real Madrid boss insisted. "We were attacking for the 90 minutes against England.
"We were attacking the players, attacking the space, attacking the ball, reducing the time. This is a power approach. In the mind, without the ball, it is an attacking approach.
"Fight for the ball, without the ball. Attack the spaces, attack the free players. For 90 minutes, it was amazing for the boys."
This is the message Ghana will carry into Croatia, the heart of Queiroz's theory, the separation between possession and control.
Attack the ball. Attack the space. Attack the opponent's comfort. Win the game.
"You have to pay for these lessons next time," Quieroz quipped, with a wink of the eye, after sharing the inner heart of his philosophy.
It carried United to the Champions League in 2008, how far can it carry Ghana at the World Cup?
