From all indications, Carlos Queiroz will continue in his role as head coach of the Ghana Black Stars beyond his four month tenure.
That contract, which was signed mere weeks before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ends in August but after guiding Ghana to the round of 32 stage, the veteran trainer has impressed the shot callers in the Ghanaian space to the point he caught the eye of Ghana President John Mahama who vouched for his stay to extend.
However, for many Black Stars fans, Queiroz is the wrong man to lead Ghana in the post-2026 World Cup era that is coming on the back of a first time qualification beyond the group World Cup group phase since 2010.
Such detractors of Queiroz argue that he is too defensive minded to get the best out of Ghana’s myriad of attack minded players and power the Black Stars to a first major international trophy since 1982.
The top scoring teams were there ones that made it to semifinals of the World Cup with members of winning side Spain, finalist Argentina, bronze medal winners England and fourth ranked France ranking in the top spots in the goal scorers’ chart.
Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal scored five goals in seven games, Argentina’s Lionel Messi had eight goals in eight games, England had Jude Bellingham score seven goals while France’s Kylian Mbappe topped the goals chart with 10.
There is credence in raising such pointers but it is important to note that countries with such firepower built themselves to that level by first becoming top performers or at least stable on the defensive side hence the need to have a man like Queiroz in charge of the Black Stars for a while.
The goal scorers mentioned above all made it into the Team of the 2026 FIFA World Cup captured by the writer of this piece and now the time has come for the best performing African players to be placed in continent’s Best XI.
My Team of the Tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup…@CitiSportsGHA pic.twitter.com/KzxLXeUq40
— Yaw Adjei-Mintah (@YawMintYM) July 20, 2026
Considering all 10 African nations were eliminated by the time the semifinals rolled in, announcing this list looked mistimed.
To be fair, in the heat of riveting semifinal games and the massive series of disappointing results from African teams called for a breather before delivering Africa’s Best XI. The time is here so here is the list of members set up in a 4-4-2 system.
My picks for Africa’s Best XI at the 2026 FIFA World Cup…. pic.twitter.com/WzRVCt8TQ6
— Yaw Adjei-Mintah (@YawMintYM) July 21, 2026
Goalkeeper
Yassine Bounou [Morocco]
There is no question, Bounou is the best goalkeeper on the continent and any doubts because of the presence of South Africa’s Ronwen Williams in the World Cup were quickly cleared by Bounou’s brilliance in a penalty shootout to guide Morocco past the Netherlands at the round of 32 stage.
A notable absence is Vozinha of Cape Verde who was the only goalkeeper who didn’t’ concede a goal against World Champions Spain though on technical grounds, Argentina didn’t concede against Spain with Ferran Torres’s goal coming beyond regulation time.
On the part of Ghana, bronze medal winners England scored against all the opponents they played against except Benjamin Asare and even in the face of leading all goalkeepers in goals prevented according to statistical platform Sofascore, Lawrence Ati Zigi also doesn’t make this list. (Click highlighted text to read full story)
Defenders
Achraf Hakimi [Morocco] Issa Diop [Morocco] Chadi Riad [Morocco] Gideon Mensah [Ghana]
Notable absences in this list are Ghana’s Jerome Opoku and Egypt’s Ramy Rabia after starring for their respective nations. However, Riad was consistently Morocco’s best defender beyond the imperious Hakimi and provided an assist to boot.
An ankle injury prevented him from competing in Morocco’s 2-0 loss to France in the quarterfinals but his impactful performance for Africa’s best team makes him a can’t miss name in Africa’s Best XI in this year’s World Cup.
Now to Gideon Mensah and the left full back’s presence in Ghana’s squad for the North American trip was very controversial considering his poor run of games in a national shirt.
On the other hand, Mensah’s turnaround in form stood out in Ghana’s World Cup campaign and his performance is one of the big positives for Queiroz whose presence changed Mensah’s prospects that led to the former AJ Auxerre player to land a two year deal with German side FC Koln.
Midfielders
Azzedine Ounahi [Morocco] Ayyoub Bouaddi [Morocco] Emam Ashour [Egypt]Amad Diallo [Cote D’Ivoire]
Placed in a diamond shape, this unit represents the best African midfielders that competed at the 2026 World Cup. There is a legitimate argument to be made for the inclusion of Cote D’Ivoire’s Christ Inao Oulai and Morocco’s Neil El Aynaoui but Ashour’s impressive campaign that made him Egypt’s best player and Amad Diallo’s top production even in the face of limited minutes, gets them over Oulai and Aynaoui.
Having Ounahi operate at the tip of this diamond shape with Bouaddi situated at the base is the best way to position members of this group.
Strikers
Ismaila Sarr [Senegal] Ismael Saibari [Morocco]
The men with different variations of Ismael lead the chart for marksmen from the continent after starring in the competition. Sarr netted four goals in four games as Senegal shockingly gave up a 2-0 lead en route to exiting the tournament after losing 3-2 to Belgium.
It is such a shame Saibari missed Morocco’s game against France to injury after exiting the 3-0 win over Canada in the round of 16 in the 22nd minute. One can only wonder what Morocco’s attack would have looked like if the Atlas Lions had their top goal getter.
