Ghana’s Black Queens will face Malawi on Sunday in a decisive quarterfinal encounter at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat, with qualification for the semifinals and a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup both within reach.
Ghana progressed from Group D after finishing second behind Cameroon, securing their place in the knockout stage following a victory, a defeat and a draw in their three group matches.
The Black Queens began their campaign with an impressive 2 nil victory over Cape Verde before suffering a narrow 1 nil defeat against Cameroon. They then secured the point they needed to progress by drawing 1 1 with Mali in their final group fixture.
The results have positioned Ghana for a crucial meeting with Malawi, with head coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren confident that his team has improved as the tournament has progressed.
The Swedish coach believes that continued improvement will be essential if Ghana are to overcome a Malawi side he considers disciplined, energetic and capable of causing problems in attack.
Bjorkegren has particularly warned his players against adopting an overly defensive approach. Although Ghana will need to remain organised at the back, he believes they must also retain possession, create opportunities and show sufficient confidence to impose themselves on the match.
“We cannot just defend with 11 players. We need to find a balance, do what we can to defend against them, but also believe in ourselves, keep the ball and take care of our chances,” Bjorkegren said.
Ghana can take some encouragement from their recent meeting with Malawi, having defeated the southern African side 4 nil in a friendly match in Casablanca.
However, midfielder Evelyn Badu has cautioned her teammates against relying on that result when they step onto the pitch for the quarterfinal.
Badu believes the knockout encounter will present an entirely different challenge because of the significantly higher stakes and the pressure associated with securing qualification for the next stage of the competition and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“We are not going to look at the fact that we scored against them. Now it is something different, and we are going in with a different approach,” Badu said.
The significance of the fixture extends beyond the immediate objective of reaching the WAFCON semifinals. A victory would also secure Ghana’s return to the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time since 2007.
That prospect has given the quarterfinal additional importance for the Black Queens, who are determined to build on their performance at the previous Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghana claimed the bronze medal at the previous tournament after reaching the semifinals and subsequently defeating Nigeria in the third place playoff.
Another victory over Malawi would therefore provide Ghana with an opportunity to continue their recent progress while ending a lengthy absence from the global women’s football tournament.
Bjorkegren has consequently described the match as one of the most significant fixtures involving Ghana’s women’s national team in the past two decades.
“The girls know it, the coaches know it, everybody at the FA knows it. We will do everything we can to make sure Ghana has a national team playing in Brazil next year,” he said.
The Black Queens will therefore enter the quarterfinal knowing that one result could determine whether their campaign continues towards the WAFCON semifinals and whether Ghana secures a long awaited return to the Women’s World Cup.
While their previous victory over Malawi provides evidence that Ghana possess the quality to overcome their opponents, the players are aware that a knockout match requires a different level of concentration, discipline and execution.
Ghana will need to combine defensive organisation with attacking confidence, manage possession effectively and take advantage of the opportunities that emerge during the contest.
With a place in the semifinals and a World Cup qualification ticket at stake, the Black Queens now face one of the defining matches of their tournament campaign.
