2026 WAFCON: We have to be more clinical against Mali - Black Queens coach Kim Lars Björkegren

Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has challenged his players to be more ruthless in front of goal as Ghana prepare for a crucial Group D encounter against Mali at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

The decisive fixture will be played at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca on Thursday, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 GMT.

Speaking ahead of the match, the Swedish coach insisted Ghana have created enough chances to have already secured a place in the quarter-finals, pointing to the team's expected goals (xG) statistics as evidence of their attacking dominance.

“If you’re looking at our XG [expected goals], I think it's close to 6, and we have scored just one goal. I wish we had scored closer to our XG, and if we did, we would have already qualified for the quarter-finals,” the coach said.

Despite his side's struggles in front of goal, the 43-year-old remains confident the Black Queens can improve, insisting better finishing will come through a combination of quality, confidence and good fortune.

“Sometimes it’s about qualities, and maybe a little bit of luck, and hopefully when we find the luck, and we do the hard work, then the snowball effect will be there that we are just going to perform better and better, and hopefully we are going to improve in this tournament as we did in the previous WAFCON,” he added.

Ghana have endured a mixed campaign so far in Morocco. The Black Queens opened their tournament with a victory over tournament debutants Cape Verde before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to Cameroon, a result that delayed their qualification for the knockout stage.

With a place in the quarter-finals still up for grabs, Björkegren's side will be aiming to convert their dominance into goals against Mali as they seek to extend their stay in the competition.

Victory would secure Ghana's place in the last eight and keep alive their ambitions of mounting a deep run at the tournament while boosting confidence ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The match kicks off at 20:00 GMT in Casablanca.