Ghana's women's national football team is set to face a tougher test against Cameroon in the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), according to head coach Kim Björkegren. The Swede, who took over from Nora Häuptle in January 2025, believes that playing against a more challenging opponent like Cameroon will bring out the best in his team.
Björkegren highlighted Ghana's recent performance against Cape Verde, where they won 2-0 on July 29. However, he emphasized that facing Cameroon would be a step up in difficulty. 'With respect to Cape Verde, playing against Cameroon is going to be one level up,' said Björkegren. 'We're going to play against a good Cameroon team that has experienced players and quality.'
The coach also pointed out that his side had already shown their mettle by giving England, the European champions, a tough fight in a friendly match last December. 'Even if they are one of the best teams in the world, we were giving them a fight,' he said. 'We then played against Russia and we won 4-0. So every time when we get tests, we actually step up and prove that we are even better than we maybe thought.'
Björkegren's optimism is rooted in his belief that the team will rise to the occasion. 'I hope it’s going to be the same thing against Cameroon,' he added.
Cameroon, who qualified for WAFCON along with Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Egypt after the Confederation of African Football expanded the competition from 12 to 16 teams, will enter the match as underdogs. Head coach Dimitri Lipoff acknowledged his team's challenge but vowed to give their best. 'We're facing a side with experience, a lot of quality, and one that has been working together for the past two years,' he said.
The Group D match between Ghana and Cameroon is set to take place in Casablanca on Sunday night. Meanwhile, Mali and Cape Verde will also be playing against each other to relaunch their campaigns. Nigeria and Zambia's game in Group C produced a 1-0 victory for the former, while Malawi maintained its perfect record with a 3-1 win over Egypt.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-final knockout stages of WAFCON, while the four semi-finalists also secure spots at the 2027 women's World Cup in Brazil. The final of the tournament is scheduled for August 16.
