2026 WAFCON: Black Queens' elimination the worst feeling in my coaching career - Kim Lars Björkegren
Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has described Ghana’s 2-1 defeat by Malawi in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals as the “worst feeling” of his 20-year coaching career.
Ghana’s hopes of securing automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup were dashed after Malawi came from behind to win a dramatic quarter-final in Rabat.
The Black Queens took an early lead through Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah in the seventh minute, but Malawi responded through Temwa Chawinga before Rose Smith Kadzere scored the decisive goal in the 79th minute.
The defeat means Ghana will not secure one of the automatic World Cup qualification places available through the tournament and must now rely on the play-offs to keep their hopes alive.
Speaking after the match, Björkegren admitted the result had been particularly painful because of what qualification would have meant to the team and the country.
“Maybe potentially the worst feeling I had in 20 years of coaching. I'm feeling so much for this team, for Ghana,” he said.
“I really wanted to help them to go to the first World Cup in 20 years, and we felt that we had a good chance to do it today, but we didn't perform well enough.”
Björkegren said Ghana had started the match positively but lost control after taking the lead, with the team increasingly relying on long balls and allowing Malawi to grow into the contest.
“I felt that we started the game pretty well. We were holding the ball in the team, we were creating some chances, we scored a goal,” he said.
“I think we started to kick the ball a little bit too long at the end of the first half and made it a little bit too easy for us and also for the opponent.
“Both teams were stretched, and it was more like a ping-pong game for a while, and that is just good for the opponent.”
The Swedish coach said his players attempted to regain control after the interval but were unable to create enough opportunities to prevent Malawi from completing the comeback.
“We spoke about it in halftime to try to control it a little bit more. I think we did it for a while in the second, but in the end we couldn't control it enough and create chances enough,” he added.
Björkegren also pointed to the demanding schedule as another factor that affected his players.
Ghana had fewer recovery days before the quarter-final and were also required to travel, circumstances he believes contributed to fatigue within the squad.
He singled out midfielder Alice Kusi as an example, saying she made a strong start but struggled to maintain her level as the match progressed.
“We talked about in the press conference yesterday that we had fewer rest days before this game, including some travelling,” Björkegren said.
“Of course, you can potentially see that Alice is a good example. I felt she started the game really well, but she couldn't hold up her performance, probably because she was tired.”
Despite the disappointment, Ghana’s World Cup hopes are not over.
The Black Queens have another opportunity to secure qualification through the play-offs and will face Ivory Coast on Thursday in a crucial tie.
For Björkegren and his players, the defeat by Malawi has ended their first route to automatic qualification, but victory against their West African rivals would keep alive Ghana’s hopes of returning to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.