Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah said that it is the wrong time to judge his side after they were eliminated from the World Cup, finishing bottom of Group G with just one point.
The Black Stars reached the quarterfinals of the tournament in 2010 but could not build on that progress this time around.
"Comparing this tournament and the previous ones, we had a team for almost eight years," Appiah said. "Most of the players were brought up from the youth level. Many of the players are very young and I'm looking at building a team for the future. Their performance levels and confidence is rising.
"No coach would love to be in this situation. It's not a lovely situation, but my contract has not ended yet. I have to continue building the team for the future.
"Ghanaians love football to bits; it is everything in Ghana. Ghanaians will love to see their team can go to the next stage, but at this level, anything can happen. The best country in terms of football is out of the World Cup. Saying that, performance-wise, all Ghanaians are happy with the performance with the young players I brought to this competition. They believe in building the team."
Appiah played down the decision to send Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari home from the tournament ahead of the game against Portugal.
However, the Ghana coach said the duo could return to the international fold at a later date.
"The decision to send two players home was taken a day before the match, but it came out the morning of the match," Appiah said: "It has to do with disciplinary issues. At this level, you look what will benefit the whole team, and this resulted in the decision that was made this morning.
"The incident has happened a few days ago. I don't think it had any impact on the game. The boys played well, but in that aspect, I don't think it had an impact on the players.
"The letter issued to them was just suspension. If they are performing well, then fine, they could be invited to play with the national team."