Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has described Ghana’s 2-1 defeat to Malawi in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) as the most painful experience of his 20-year coaching career.
Ghana took an early lead through Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah in the seventh minute, but Malawi fought back to equalise through Temwa Chawinga before Rose Smith Kadzere scored the decisive goal in the 79th minute.
The defeat denied the Black Queens an immediate return to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, leaving Ghana to fight for qualification through the playoff route.
A visibly disappointed Björkegren said the result was particularly painful because of the team’s ambition to secure Ghana’s first World Cup qualification in two decades.
“Maybe potentially the worst feeling I had in 20 years of coaching. I’m feeling so much for this team, for Ghana. I really wanted to help them to go to the first World Cup in 20 years,” he said.
The Swedish coach admitted that Ghana failed to perform at the required level despite what he considered a closely contested encounter.
“We felt that we had a good chance to do it today, but we didn’t perform well enough. Even if it was a little bit of a 50-50 game, always when you’re in the losing team you need to face the truth and the fact is that we lost with one ball and now it’s really painful,” he added.
Long balls disrupted Ghana’s control
Björkegren said Ghana started the match positively but gradually lost control after relying too heavily on long passes.
“I felt that we started the game pretty well. We were holding the ball in the team, we were creating some chances, we scored a goal,” he explained.
However, he said Ghana’s approach changed towards the end of the first half, allowing the game to become more open.
“I think we started to kick the ball a little bit too long in the end of the first half and made it a little bit too easy for us and also for the opponent. Both teams were stretched and it was more looking like a ping pong game for a while and that is just good for the opponent.”
According to the coach, the technical team addressed the issue during the half-time break and urged the players to regain possession and control.
“We spoke about it in halftime to try to control it a little bit more. I think we did it for a while in the second, but in the end we couldn’t control it enough and create chances enough,” he said.
Fatigue also affected Black Queens
Björkegren also attributed Ghana’s performance to fatigue, pointing to the team’s limited recovery period and travel schedule ahead of the quarterfinal.
He cited midfielder Alice Kusi as an example of a player who struggled to maintain her early intensity.
“I felt she started the game really well, but she couldn’t hold up her performance and probably because she was tired.
She played a couple of days ago and you need probably one day more to get fit,” he said.
The coach noted that Ghana’s placement in Group D meant the team had fewer recovery days compared with some of its opponents.
“You can potentially see that Alice is a good example. We had less rest days before this game, including some travelling. It’s out of our control and that’s just a fact when you are in Group D that you will always have less days to recover,” he added.
Ghana still has World Cup chance
Despite the quarterfinal setback, Ghana’s World Cup hopes remain alive.
The Black Queens will face Côte d’Ivoire in the playoff on Thursday, with the winner securing a place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Björkegren and his players will therefore have little time to dwell on the disappointment as they prepare for another crucial opportunity to end Ghana’s two-decade wait for a return to the global women’s football showpiece.
