Portugal men football team coach Fernando Santos says he will have to do his homework on the Black Star before the World Cup opening game at the on 24 November.
“They have great players, a lot of them play in Europe. It’s one thing to have great players playing in Europe, but you need to have a collective. You can have one or two players here and there, but it needs to be a team”.
The Coach confessed that Europeans focus less on African football but this is a time to study the Black Stars: “We see certain competitions and tournaments less in Europe,” Santos told BBC Sport Africa. “That’s the reality, so we really have to analyse Ghana now.
However, the veteran coach, who took charge of Portugal after the 2014 World Cup and led the side to 2016 European Championship glory, believes Group H is “open”.
“It is difficult to make an assessment,” the 67-year-old said.
“It’s four continents and four completely different styles. I don’t really know how to assess it clearly because it’s different styles, different cultures, and different forms of play.
Fernando Santos believes the opening game against Ghana is going to make a big difference: “However, the opening matches are going to be decisive. If it comes to points on the ranking, clearly Portugal is ahead. In 2002, Korea eliminated Portugal. Obviously, Portugal is a candidate to progress from the group.”
