‘Worst feeling in 20 years of coaching’ – Björkegren reacts to Black Queens’ WAFCON exit

Black Queens' head coach, Kim Lars Björkegren, lamented that the Ghanaian team's elimination from the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations as the "worst feeling" of his 20-year coaching career. Ghana suffered a 2-1 defeat to Malawi at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat, which prevented them from securing automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah opened the scoring for Ghana, but Malawi responded with two goals in quick succession through Temwa Chawinga and Rose Smith Kadzere. The loss meant Ghana would have to go through the play-offs to retain their World Cup hopes. Björkegren acknowledged that the result was particularly painful given the team's potential to play in the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.

He admitted that his team lost control of the match after a strong start and conceded a decisive goal in the 79th minute. The coach also pointed to limited recovery time and travel schedule as factors that affected the team's performance. Despite the disappointment, Ghana's World Cup hopes are not entirely over, as they will face Côte d’Ivoire in the play-offs on Thursday.