Black Queens face three teams in FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 play-offs

Ghana’s Black Queens will face three opponents in the preliminary phase of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 play-offs, scheduled from November 24 to December 5, 2026. Ecuador, Uzbekistan and Papua New Guinea stand between Ghana and progress to the next stage of the qualification route.

The Black Queens will begin against Ecuador on November 24. Their second game will come against Uzbekistan later in November, before they complete the preliminary phase against Papua New Guinea in December. The fixtures form part of a six-team mini-tournament.

Ghana entered the intercontinental play-offs after falling short of automatic qualification at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. The Black Queens lost 2-1 to Malawi in the quarter-finals, with Malawi later reaching the final.

That defeat did not end Ghana’s qualification hopes. The team responded by beating Côte d’Ivoire 2-1 in the play-in match, securing its place in the World Cup play-offs.

The preliminary phase will be decided by the performance of the six participating teams, with the leading two advancing to the final phase. Ghana must therefore finish among the top two in its group to continue its bid for a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

The campaign offers the Black Queens another route back to the global tournament after their failure to qualify automatically through the continental competition. Their sequence of matches against Ecuador, Uzbekistan and Papua New Guinea will determine whether that opportunity remains alive beyond the opening phase.