Ghana head coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren says his team is ready to challenge Nigeria for the African crown at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons are the reigning champions. The Falcons won their 10th continental title at the 2024 tournament in Morocco, extending their record as Africa’s most successful women’s team. They have already qualified for this year’s WAFCON, which will again take place in Morocco later this month.
Under coach Justine Madugu, Nigeria will start as favourites. They defeated strong sides like South Africa, Zambia and hosts Morocco on their way to lifting the trophy last year.
But Ghana are growing in belief. The Black Queens finished third at the last tournament, their first WAFCON medal since 2016. Although Ghana have never won the competition and lost three finals to Nigeria in 1998, 2002 and 2006, they now believe they can go one step further.
Their confidence has been boosted by an impressive 4-0 victory over Russia in a friendly tournament this week.
Speaking after that match, Bjorkegren said the result was a strong message to the rest of Africa.
“I mean, the high potential in this (Ghana) group is top, top,” the Swedish manager said as per GhanaSoccernet.
“It shows that we have the quality to go all the way [at WAFCON 2026] and beat all of the teams in Africa. It's not going to be easy. So, it's a separate style of football as well. I think they suit us pretty well in Russia. So, we need to have that in our mind. But, I mean, we can only do what we can do, and we did it today.”
Nigeria also showed they are ready by beating Cameroon 3-1 in Yaoundé on the same day, setting up what could be another thrilling rivalry at WAFCON.
Ghana: Black Queens shine at Pink Ladies Cup
As part of their preparations, Ghana are competing in the 2026 Pink Ladies Cup in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
They began the four-nation tournament with a big win over Hong Kong. They then followed it up with a dominant 4-0 victory against Russia.
Ghana took control early. Stella Nyamekye opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a calm finish. Doris Boaduwaa made it 2-0 in the 17th minute after a well-worked team move. She struck again in the 33rd minute to complete her brace, giving Ghana a comfortable 3-0 lead at half-time.
Russia tried to respond in the second half but could not break through Ghana’s organised defence. The Black Queens stayed disciplined and dangerous on the counterattack.
Patience Ajegipena Zakaria sealed the win in the 88th minute with Ghana’s fourth goal.
The victory means Ghana have two wins from two matches and sit top of the table.
They will complete their Pink Ladies Cup campaign against Tanzania on Friday, March 6, 2026. It will be the Black Queens' final test before turning their full focus to WAFCON, where Nigeria will once again stand in their way.
