Ghana’s Black Queens still have a route to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup despite their disappointing quarter-final defeat to Malawi at the ongoing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
Ghana suffered a 2-1 defeat to Malawi, with a late goal from Rose Kadzere ending the Black Queens’ hopes of reaching the semi-finals and securing one of Africa’s automatic World Cup qualification spots.
The Black Queens will now face fellow West African side Côte d’Ivoire in a crucial World Cup playoff on August 13.
Côte d’Ivoire also missed out on automatic qualification after losing 2-1 to Algeria in their quarter-final.
The playoff will therefore give both teams another opportunity to stay in contention for a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup
The other World Cup playoff will feature two of Africa’s biggest women’s football nations, Nigeria and South Africa.
Nigeria were eliminated from the WAFCON after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in the quarter-finals.
South Africa also failed to reach the semi-finals after losing 2-1 to hosts Morocco.
The two sides will now meet in the second World Cup playoff, with the winner advancing to the next stage of the qualification process.
How Africa’s World Cup qualification works
Africa has been allocated six places at the expanded 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Four places will be secured automatically by the four WAFCON semi-finalists.
The remaining two African representatives will have to go through the FIFA Women’s World Cup intercontinental playoff tournament.
Therefore, the winners of:
Ghana vs Côte d’Ivoire Nigeria vs South Africa
will advance to the intercontinental playoff, where they will compete for the remaining World Cup places.
For the Black Queens, the equation is simple: beat Côte d’Ivoire on August 13 and keep the World Cup dream alive.
A defeat, however, would end Ghana’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
