2026 WAFCON: Kim Lars Björkegren lament over short recovery time for Black Queens ahead of quarterfinals clash with Malawi
Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has expressed concern over Ghana’s demanding recovery schedule ahead of their 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) quarter-final clash with Malawi on Sunday.
Ghana booked their place in the last eight after battling to a 1-1 draw against Mali in their final Group D encounter on Thursday night in Casablanca.
The result was enough to secure qualification, but the Black Queens now face a tight turnaround, with only two days to recover before taking on Malawi. The team must also travel from Casablanca to Rabat, where the crucial quarter-final will be played.
Björkegren believes the limited recovery period presents a significant challenge, particularly because of the logistics involved in moving a large team delegation between cities.
“It’s a problem. Also, the fact that if you play in Group D, it’s not a favour for you because you have your rest days before the tournament starts, which is really no help. And now we only have like two days for recovery,” the Swedish coach said.
The Ghana coach noted that although the distance between Casablanca and Rabat is relatively short, transporting the entire delegation will consume valuable recovery time.
“One of them includes a move to Rabat. Even if the distance is not so big, it takes a group of 50 people or whatever we are to move. It takes half a day. So, of course, it’s not perfect. But at the same time, it’s nothing we can do about that,” he added.
Despite the challenging schedule, Björkegren remains positive about Ghana’s chances, drawing encouragement from the team’s performance against Mali.
The Black Queens had to work hard to secure the result, but their head coach was pleased with their overall display and particularly relieved that the squad emerged from the physically demanding encounter without any injury concerns.
“I think this performance today is going to give the players good energy. And we were lucky, as I can see at least, that we have no injuries today,” Björkegren said.
Ghana will now turn their attention to Malawi, with a place in the WAFCON semi-finals at stake.
Victory would also take the Black Queens a significant step closer to a return to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, having last featured at the global tournament in 2007.
The quarter-final is scheduled for Sunday in Rabat, with kick-off set for 20:00 GMT.