Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz says the “real World Cup” begins in the knockout stage after his side advanced to the Round of 32, setting up a clash with Colombia.

The Black Stars progressed from Group L as one of the best third-placed teams after collecting four points from one win, one draw and one loss, which came against Croatia.

Reflecting on the team’s performance, Queiroz remained upbeat, insisting the setback against Croatia would serve as a learning curve ahead of the knockout phase.

“Yeah, I think, as I used to say, we win or we learn. Today we learn. And we learn to be better prepared for the World Championship,” he said.

“The World Championship, the real World Championship starts in the next game. Group stage, it is warming up for the qualification.”

The Portuguese coach likened qualification from the group stage to a steppingstone rather than an achievement.

“Qualification is not a destination. Qualification is just a credit card that you receive to deserve to be in this stage of the competition. Now we have to pay the price of having that credit card in your pocket,” he added.

Ghana would be chasing a place in the Round of 16 against a Colombia side that topped Group K with seven points from two wins and a draw, conceding only once in their three matches.

According to Queiroz, the knockout phase demands a different mentality, with no room for error.

“Everything to the winner, nothing to the loser. So that means that every single game is about drama. Nobody can hide anything since the first minute.

“Everybody must go for it and put everything in the game and play really the knockout stage with that spirit of entertainment and drama, emotional. That’s the real World Cup that starts next game.”

Saturday’s encounter would mark the first World Cup meeting between Ghana and Colombia.