Ghana’s Black Queens have hammered Russia 4-0 in Dubai, and their Swedish coach says his team can beat every nation in Africa. The Super Falcons have been put on notice, less than two weeks before WAFCON 2026 kicks off in Morocco.
Ghana isn’t whispering anymore. The Black Queens arrived in Dubai for the 2026 Pink Ladies Cup looking for a statement. They’ve made two of them, back to back, thrashing both Hong Kong and Russia 4-0 to storm to the top of the four-nation tournament. And now their coach, Kim Lars Bjorkegren, is saying out loud what many African women’s football observers have suspected for a while: Ghana is coming for Nigeria’s crown.
The Super Falcons, 10-time WAFCON champions and Africa’s most dominant women’s football nation, have reigned over this continent since 1991. Ghana knows that better than anyone. The Black Queens have lost three WAFCON finals to Nigeria in 1998, 2002, and 2006. They’ve never won the tournament. But with WAFCON 2026 set to kick off in Morocco on March 17, Bjorkegren believes that record is about to change.
– Kim Lars Bjorkegren, Ghana Black Queens Head Coach
Eight Goals, Zero Conceded: The Dubai Statement
Pink Ladies Cup, Dubai — March 3, 2026
The scoreline flattered Russia. Ghana were dominant from the first whistle at the Al Hamriya Sports Club Stadium in the UAE. Doris Boaduwaa was the standout performer, setting up Stella Nyamekye for the opener in the eighth minute before scoring twice herself, in the 17th and 33rd minutes, to give Ghana a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break. Patience Ajegipena Zakaria wrapped up a clinical performance late in the second half.
This followed an equally dominant 4-0 demolition of Hong Kong in their tournament opener, meaning Ghana have now scored eight goals and conceded none in two matches. They’ve done it with organisation at the back, lightning-quick transitions, and a ruthlessness in front of goal that would worry any defence in Africa.
The preparation has been meticulous. Bjorkegren, who took over the Black Queens with an engineer’s precision, scouted players as far afield as Malta before announcing his WAFCON squad. He’s brought in six uncapped players to inject fresh energy, while building around the core that earned Ghana a bronze medal at the 2024 WAFCON in Morocco. That third-place finish, earned with a win over South Africa on penalties, lit a fire. This squad believes they’ve unfinished business in Morocco.
The Rivalry Nigeria Cannot Take Lightly
Nigeria and Ghana’s women’s football history is long and combustible. The Super Falcons beat the Black Queens in three WAFCON finals. They’ve dominated this rivalry for more than two decades. But the margin of superiority has been shrinking, and Nigerian football fans who watched the 2024 WAFCON closely know it. Nigeria laboured in almost every match before completing their stunning 3-2 comeback against Morocco in the final. It wasn’t the commanding display of a dominant force. It was the grit of a champion fighting to hold their ground.
Ghana isn’t in the same WAFCON 2026 group as Nigeria, which means a potential clash only from the quarterfinals onwards. The Super Falcons land in Group C alongside Zambia, Egypt, and debutants Malawi. Ghana face Cape Verde, Cameroon and Mali in Group D, opening their campaign on March 18 against Cape Verde in Fes.
Should both sides advance from their groups, as most observers expect, a Nigeria-Ghana semifinal or final in Morocco would be the blockbuster the continent deserves. Ghana is preparing specifically for that moment. The Pink Ladies Cup is not just warm-up football. It’s a rehearsal for the main stage.
Nigeria’s Response: The 3-1 Win Over Cameroon
The Super Falcons haven’t been sitting still. While Ghana were dismantling Russia in Dubai, Nigeria were in Yaoundé beating Cameroon 3-1 in the second of two pre-WAFCON friendlies. It was a better response than the 1-0 defeat they suffered in the first leg, and coach Justine Madugu will take confidence from the performance.
But questions remain about Nigeria heading into Morocco. Madugu is still working without a confirmed, long-term contract from the NFF. Key players, including Asisat Oshoala, face fitness uncertainties. The WAFU B four-nation tournament in Abidjan, where Nigeria faced Ghana and Senegal as additional preparation, gave some answers. Not all of them were comfortable reading.
What is clear is that the Super Falcons’ squad has genuine world-class quality. Chiamaka Nnadozie in goal is one of the best keepers in African women’s football. Rasheedat Ajibade, Rinsola Babajide, Michelle Alozie and Ashleigh Plumptre give Nigeria attacking and defensive depth that Ghana will struggle to match. But depth alone doesn’t win tournaments. And Ghana, in its current form, isn’t coming to Morocco to make up the numbers.
Analysis: Is the WAFCON Era of Nigerian Dominance Ending?
Nigeria has won 10 of the 13 WAFCON tournaments played since 1998. Only Equatorial Guinea (2008, 2012) and South Africa (2022) have broken their monopoly. But Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, and Morocco are all closing the gap. The 2024 WAFCON showed that clearly. Nigeria needed a late comeback to beat Morocco in the final after going 2-0 down. South Africa pushed them all the way in the semifinal. Ghana claimed third place. This isn’t the Super Falcons of the 2000s, winning tournaments at a canter.
Bjorkegren is no ordinary coach. He’s rebuilt Ghana’s women’s programme from the ground up with a data-driven approach, scouted globally for diaspora players, and instilled a tactical discipline that makes Ghana much harder to break down than it was three years ago. His public declaration that Ghana can win WAFCON 2026 isn’t bravado. It’s a calculated message from a coach who believes the gap has genuinely closed.
For Nigeria, the lesson from 2024 is that you can still win while not being at your best, but only with the right mentality. The Super Falcons have an abundance of mental toughness. Whether Madugu can harness it fully, without a settled contract and with key players on uncertain club form, is the question WAFCON 2026 will answer.
What’s Next: Tanzania, Then Morocco
Ghana complete their Pink Ladies Cup campaign against Tanzania on Friday, March 6, which also happens to be Ghana’s Independence Day. A win would almost certainly hand them the tournament title, a fitting gift for the nation ahead of WAFCON. They’ll then face the Ivory Coast in one final warm-up match before the main event in Morocco.
Nigeria’s focus now shifts entirely to Rabat. The Super Falcons open their WAFCON 2026 defence against Zambia, a team they beat on their way to the title in 2024. It looks straightforward on paper. But so did plenty of other results before the tournament threw up its surprises. WAFCON 2026, with 16 teams for the first time in the competition’s history, is set up for exactly that.
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One thing is certain: Ghana is ready. The Black Queens have made their intentions clear in Dubai. The Super Falcons have been warned.
📌 Did You Know?
- WAFCON 2026 in Morocco will be the first-ever edition of the tournament to feature 16 teams, up from 12 at the 2022 edition, making it the most competitive Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in history.
- All four WAFCON 2026 semifinalists will earn automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, meaning the tournament doubles as a World Cup qualifying event for African nations.
- Ghana’s Black Queens have never won the WAFCON title, finishing as runners-up three times (1998, 2002, 2006) and in third place at the 2024 edition, making a potential breakthrough in Morocco their best chance yet.
- Nigeria’s record-extending 10th WAFCON title at the 2024 edition came via a stunning comeback, overturning a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in Rabat, with the winning goal arriving two minutes from full time.
- Ghana qualified for WAFCON 2026 with a commanding 7-0 aggregate victory over Egypt in the final qualifying round, a result that signalled to the rest of Africa that the Black Queens mean business this time.
- Nigeria’s Perpetua Nkwocha remains the all-time leading scorer in WAFCON history with 34 goals across multiple tournaments from 2002 to 2014, a record that stands as one of the most remarkable in African women’s football.
- Coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren conducted a personal scouting mission in Malta ahead of announcing his WAFCON 2026 squad, emblematic of the data-driven, globally minded approach he’s brought to transforming the Black Queens programme.
