Carlos Queiroz quits as Ghana coach a month into his second tenure in charge

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Carlos Queiroz and Ghana have parted ways again.

The Ghana Football Association announced Thursday it had mutually agreed to terminate its contract with the Portuguese coach after discussions that were “held in a spirit of mutual respect.”

“This decision, though not an easy one, was reached with the best interests of Ghana, the Black Stars and Ghanaian football at heart,” it said.

It’s the second time in recent months that Queiroz and Ghana have split.

The 73-year-old Queiroz, who has coached Portugal, Colombia, Iran and Egypt at international level and Real Madrid at club level, was first appointed to lead Ghana in April and replace the fired Otto Addo. The team drew against England in the World Cup group stage and progressed as one of the best third-place finishers despite a loss to Croatia in their final group game.

However, he quit his role after Ghana was eliminated from the tournament following a 1-0 loss to Colombia in the last 32.

Just about two months later, he was back in charge of Ghana on Sept 3.

His second departure comes after Ghana was beaten by Ivory Coast 2-0 and by Gambia 4-2 in qualifying matches for the Africa Cup of Nations last month.

“I came to Ghana determined to help build a stronger future for the Black Stars and support the development of the country’s talent,” he said in a statement. “Despite our commitment and efforts, the necessary conditions were not fully established, and our recent performance added to the decision to bring this journey to an end.”

It was not immediately clear who might replace the Portuguese as Ghana head coach.

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