BY GRACE ZIGAH
Ghana’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations have been dealt a major blow, with Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren pointing to a demanding fixture schedule and additional travel as factors that affected his team’s performance against Malawi.
The Black Queens entered the quarter-final in Rabat after finishing second in Group D, which meant they had fewer recovery days than their opponents before the knockout fixture. Ghana also had to travel ahead of the crucial encounter, further reducing the time available for the players to recover physically.
Despite making a strong start and taking an early lead through Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah, Ghana were unable to sustain their intensity throughout the match and eventually suffered a 2-1 defeat to Malawi.
Bjorkegren acknowledged after the game that the limited recovery period may have taken a toll on some of his players, citing midfielder Alice Kusi as a particular example. Kusi started brightly but struggled to maintain her influence as the match progressed.
“We talked about it in the press conference yesterday that we had less rest days before this game, including some travelling,” Bjorkegren said.
“Of course, you can potentially see that Alice is a good example that I talked about, that I felt she started the game really well, but she couldn’t hold up her performance, probably because she was tired.”
The Swedish coach suggested that Kusi’s workload was partly responsible for her reduced impact, noting that the midfielder had played only a few days earlier and could have benefited from an additional recovery day.
“She played a couple of days ago, and you probably need one more day to get fit, but it’s out of our control,” he explained.
Bjorkegren also pointed to the tournament structure, arguing that Ghana’s position in Group D meant the team was always likely to have a shorter recovery window before the quarter-final.
“That’s just a fact when you are in Group D that you will always have fewer days to recover,” he added.
The Black Queens’ early advantage against Malawi raised hopes of a place in the last four, but their inability to sustain their opening intensity ultimately proved costly as Malawi completed the comeback.
The defeat means Ghana have missed out on a semi-final place and, with it, automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
However, the Black Queens’ World Cup hopes remain alive. Ghana will now have to quickly recover and prepare for a decisive WAFCON play-in encounter against Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday.
