ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COLOMBIA AND GHANA HEAD COACHES AT THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP 

By: Isaac Amponsah (Dr Ike)

• Colombia Head coach:

• 60-year-old Colombian coach, Nestor Gabriel Lorenzo, is an Argentine born on February 26, 1966, in Villa Celina, Argentina. He is a former player who played as a defender. 

• Managerial career:

• After retiring from active football in 1998, Lorenzo joined Jose Pekerman's coaching staff in the Argentina national U-20 team in 2000, as an assistant coach.

• On December 16, 2020, Lorenzo had his first managerial experience after being named at the helm of Peruvian Primera Division side FBC Melgar.

• Under Lorenzo's guidance, Melgar won the 2022 Apertura tournament in July and left after qualifying the club to the Quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana.

• Lorenzo served as assistant coach for the Colombia national team from 2012-2019.

• On June 2, 2022, the Colombian Football Federation announced Lorenzo as the head coach of the national team for the following four years.

• In July 2024, Colombia went 28 games undefeated under Lorenzo and had significant victories over the national teams of Germany, Brazil, Uruguay and Spain.

• Another major achievement of Lorenzo's was leading the national team to its first Copa America final in 23 years and managing Colombia to score 12 goals in the 2024 Copa America, their highest record in the competition; they lost the final on extra time to Argentina. 

• In September 2025, Colombia qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup under the guidance of Lorenzo, finishing third in CONMEBOL and achieving the nation’s seventh World Cup qualification.

• Nestor Lorenzo has played 49 games for the Colombian national team since July 2022 with a record (W30 D12 L7), win percentage of 61.22%.

• In 2024, Lorenzo was considered to be one of the 10 best national team managers in the World.

• Ghana Head coach:

• 73-year-old Ghana coach, Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz, is a Portuguese born on March 1, 1953, and on April 13, 2026, Queiroz was appointed head coach of Ghana ahead of their participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

• Following Ghana's qualification to the knock-out stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Carlos Queiroz became the third foreign coach to have guided the team to progress beyond the group stages of the competition after Ratomir Dujkovic - Round of 16 in the 2006 edition and Milovan Rajevac - Quarter-finals in the 2010 edition, all from Serbia.

• The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the second time Carlos Queiroz's team has qualified for the knock-out stages of the tournament:
• Portugal in the 2010 World Cup.
• Ghana in the 2026 World Cup.

• Ghana finishing third place in Group L is the third time Carlos Queiroz's team has finished in that position at the FIFA World Cup in the group stages:
• Iran finished 3rd in Group B of the 2018 edition (Spain, Portugal, Iran and Morocco).
• Iran finished 3rd in Group B of the 2022 World Cup (England, United States, Iran, Wales).
• Ghana finished 3rd in Group L in this season's edition (England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama).

• Carlos Queiroz of Ghana lost his only knock-out stage game at the FIFA World Cup:
• 29/06/2010 Spain    1-0 Portugal (Round of 16) [2010 World Cup]

• The only time Carlos Queiroz met a side he has managed before at the FIFA World Cup tournament, the game ended in a draw:
• 25/06/2018 Iran       1-1 Portugal (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]

• Managerial statistics:

• Carlos Queiroz managed the Colombia national team from February 7, 2019 to December 1, 2020, where he saw them play 18 games in all competitions with a record (W9 D5 L4 GF22 GA18), win percentage of 50%.

• Since April 13, 2026, Carlos Queiroz has managed the Ghana national team in 4 games in all competitions with the record (W1 D2 L1 GF3 GA3), win percentage of 25%.

• Carlos Queiroz has served as the manager of the United Arab Emirates (1998-1999), South Africa (2000-2002), Portugal national team (2008-2010), Iran (2014-2018, 2022), Colombia (2019-2020), Egypt (2021-2022), Qatar (2023) and Oman (2025-26).

• Queiroz led South Africa (2002), Portugal (2010), and Iran (2014, 2018, 2022) to the FIFA World Cup, and on April 13, 2026, Ghana appointed him ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

• Carlos Queiroz with the Egypt national team at the 2021 AFCON tournament (knock-out stages):

• January 26, 2022 (Round of 16) [2021 AFCON]
Ivory Coast                   0-0 Egypt a.e.t. (4-5p)

• January 30, 2022 (Quarter-finals) [2021 AFCON]
Egypt                             2-1 Morocco a.e.t.

• February 3, 2022 (Semi-Finals) [2021 AFCON]
Cameroon                    0-0 Egypt a.e.t. (1-3p)

• February 6, 2022 (Final) [2021 AFCON]
Senegal                         0-0 Egypt a.e.t. (4-2p)

• 60-year-old Colombian coach, Nestor Gabriel Lorenzo, will face off with the 73-year-old Ghana coach, Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz, on Saturday, July 4, 2026, at the Kansas City Stadium for a Round of 32 fixture.

• Will the Colombia and Ghana fixture go to 120 minutes?