How Black Queens of Ghana can still qualify for Women's World Cup despite WAFCON setback

The Black Queens of Ghana quest for a place at the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup is still alive, even after suffering a painful 2-1 quarter-final exit to Malawi at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

The defeat shut the door on Ghana's WAFCON semi-final ambitions, but it has not closed the book on their World Cup journey. The Black Queens will now have to earn their ticket to Brazil the hard way, through the FIFA Women's World Cup Play-Off Tournament.

MUST READ: Malawi beat Black Queens of Ghana to reach WAFCON semi-finals, qualify for FIFA Women's World Cup

Ghana joins Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa and Nigeria as the four nations knocked out at the WAFCON quarter-final stage. These four teams will now battle for two available slots in the expanded 10-team FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

The Black Queens' first test comes on August 13 against Côte d'Ivoire, who fell to Algeria in their own quarter-final clash. In the other continental play-off tie, South Africa will square off against Nigeria for the second available spot.

Ghana must beat the Ivorian side to punch their ticket into the global 10-team play-off tournament, which is set to take place in November and December 2026. That tournament will bring together two representatives each from Africa, Asia, CONCACAF and South America, joined by one team from Oceania and one from Europe.

READ ALSO: Cameroon stun 10-time champions Nigeria to reach WAFCON semi-finals, qualify for 2027 World Cup

Of the 10 nations involved, six will kick off the competition in an opening knockout round, with the two winners progressing to join four other already-seeded teams in the decisive final phase in February 2027.

At that stage, the six remaining teams will be split into three separate knockout brackets, and only the winner of each bracket will secure a coveted spot at the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.

For Ghana, the margin for error is now razor-thin. Every match from here carries World Cup qualification weight.

READ MORE: Algeria qualifies for 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup after historic WAFCON comeback against Cote d'Ivoire

The Black Queens' immediate task is straightforward but far from easy: get past Côte d'Ivoire, then navigate a gauntlet of further knockout rounds against strong international opposition.

The Malawi loss has undoubtedly made the path steeper, but it hasn't shut it down. A single win over the Ivorians would keep Ghana's Brazil 2027 dream alive, setting up two more high-stakes knockout assignments standing between the team and a World Cup berth.