Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren believes Ghana produced their best performance of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Mali.
Ghana went into Thursday night’s final Group D fixture at the Moulay Rashid Stadium in Casablanca needing just a point to secure progression to the quarter-finals.
Evelyn Badu put the Black Queens ahead before half-time, but Mali fought back through Diabite to earn a share of the spoils.
Despite the late pressure from the Malians, Björkegren was pleased with Ghana’s overall display and felt his side could have won the game comfortably had they been more clinical.
“Yeah, I mean, to go to the playoff was one of the three targets that we had this summer with the Black Queens. The game is the best that we have played – the only thing I can be disappointed over is the fact that we were nervous in the end. We should have closed this game way earlier,” Björkegren said after the game.
The Swedish coach pointed to Ghana’s attacking numbers as evidence of their dominance, noting that the Black Queens created enough chances to have secured a much bigger victory.
“We’re having like an xG – there is a 3.3 almost against 0.6. I mean, it’s a normal game that you win with 3-0 or something like that. But in the end, you need to be nervous. So that’s the only thing I can complain about; otherwise I think we played really good football,” he explained.
Björkegren was particularly impressed with the way Ghana approached the match from the opening whistle, describing the first half as their best football of the tournament so far.
“I think we were ready from the start today. The first half, like I said, this is probably the best one we have played. But at the end of the day, we needed one point, and we took it, and now we are in a good position,” he said.
The draw was enough to send the Black Queens into the quarter-finals, keeping alive their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Björkegren is fully aware of the significance of Ghana’s next match, with victory in the quarter-final enough to secure a place at the global tournament.
“Because this quarter-final is only one game from the World Cup,” Björkegren stressed.
Ghana will now face Malawi in the quarter-finals, with a place in the semi-finals and a ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup at stake.
Victory over Malawi would take the Black Queens into the semi-finals and move them closer to securing a return to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
