Ghana’s Black Queens face Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday, 13 August 2026, in a decisive first-phase play-in match that forms part of Africa’s qualification pathway for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The encounter takes place at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca and carries enormous weight for both sides, as only the winner will advance to the inter-confederation play-off tournament later in the year while the loser will see their World Cup hopes extinguished.
The Black Queens arrived in this position after a painful 2-1 quarter-final defeat to tournament debutants Malawi at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Played on Sunday 9 August at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat, the match began brightly for Ghana when Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah gave them an early lead with a composed volley in the seventh minute. Malawi responded through their star forward Temwa Chawinga, who levelled the scores, and the game remained tightly contested. Ghana thought they had regained the advantage when Doris Boaduwaa found the net, only for VAR to disallow the goal. Rose Kadzere then struck the decisive blow in the 79th minute, sealing a historic victory for Malawi and sending them into the semi-finals. Despite late pressure from the Black Queens and some important saves by goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan, Ghana could not force an equaliser.
That result not only ended Ghana’s involvement in the WAFCON knockout stages but also denied them one of Africa’s four automatic berths for the 2027 World Cup. The four semi-finalists—Morocco, Cameroon, Algeria and Malawi—secured direct qualification. The four quarter-final losers, including Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, were directed into these play-in matches. Côte d’Ivoire themselves reached this stage after a 1-2 loss to Algeria on 8 August in Casablanca, in which they took the lead through Inès Konan before conceding second-half goals and finishing the contest with ten players following a red card.
For Ghana the stakes could scarcely be higher. The Black Queens last appeared at a Women’s World Cup in 2007 and have spent nearly two decades trying to return to the global stage. Victory on Thursday would keep that long-held dream alive by earning a place in the inter-confederation play-offs, a ten-team competition scheduled across windows in November–December 2026 and February 2027 from which three additional nations will qualify for Brazil. Defeat would close the door on their 2027 ambitions. Côte d’Ivoire, who made a single previous appearance at the tournament in 2015, are equally motivated to keep their campaign going.
Both teams are familiar West African rivals with a history of competitive meetings in regional competitions. Ghana, coached by Kim Lars Björkegren, will look to recover quickly from the disappointment of the Malawi loss and convert their attacking opportunities more ruthlessly. Key contributors in the recent quarter-final included Boye-Hlorkah, Boaduwaa, Evelyn Badu and the experienced defence marshalled in front of Konlan. Côte d’Ivoire showed promising attacking quality earlier in the WAFCON, particularly through younger talents, and will aim to recover confidence after their own quarter-final exit.
The parallel play-in match sees South Africa face Nigeria, with the two winners from the pair of fixtures becoming Africa’s representatives in the global play-offs. The broader structure of qualification for the 32-team 2027 World Cup allocates four direct slots to Africa via the WAFCON semi-finalists and up to two further places through the inter-confederation route, giving more nations a realistic pathway than in previous cycles.
Thursday’s meeting in Casablanca therefore represents far more than a single match. It is a moment of redemption for the Black Queens after their WAFCON heartbreak, a test of character against regional neighbours, and a critical step toward potentially ending a twenty-year absence from the Women’s World Cup. Both sets of players will take the field knowing that ninety minutes, or more if required, will decide whether their World Cup journey continues or ends in Morocco.