Black Queens can reach 2027 World Cup after 2-1 WAFCON exit

Ghana’s Black Queens lost 2-1 to Malawi in the 2026 WAFCON quarter-finals, ending their chance of taking one of Africa’s automatic places at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Hasaacas Ladies chief executive Evelyn Nsiah Asare believes the team can still qualify through the intercontinental play-off tournament.

The defeat prevented Ghana from reaching the semi-finals, where the automatic World Cup places were available. The Black Queens must now use the play-off route, with the tournament scheduled for 24 November to 5 December 2026.

Ghana’s opening preliminary-phase fixture will be against Ecuador. They will then face Uzbekistan and Papua New Guinea as they compete for a place at the finals in Brazil.

Nsiah Asare said changes to the squad’s training tour and preparations may have influenced the team’s WAFCON campaign. She described the quarter-final elimination as particularly disappointing because Ghana had previously qualified for the Women’s World Cup on three occasions.

The Black Queens kept their hopes alive by beating Côte d’Ivoire 2-1 in a WAFCON play-off match. That victory secured one of Africa’s two places in the intercontinental qualification tournament and gave Ghana another route to the global competition.

Nsiah Asare accepts that direct qualification would have avoided the extra financial and organisational demands of the play-offs, but she remains encouraged by Ghana’s draw. Her original ambition was for the Black Queens to win the continental title, although the team’s immediate target is now a return to the World Cup for the first time since 2007.