Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has revealed that surprise results involving African heavyweights Nigeria and South Africa served as a wake-up call for Ghana ahead of their opening match against Cape Verde at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

Speaking after Ghana's victory, the Swedish tactician said he reminded his players before breakfast that nothing would come easily at the tournament, using the earlier results as evidence that every team was capable of causing an upset.

"I had a little bit of a heads-up in the morning before breakfast with the girls to remind them that nothing comes for free in this tournament," Björkegren said.

"We spoke about some of the other teams' performances and the results as well, so we needed to be on our toes, and we needed to be ready for this game today."

WAFCON 2026: 'We are ready to get going' - Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah

Björkegren stressed the importance of making a winning start, noting that the three-match group stage leaves little room for error.

"We all know in a group stage with only three games, if you lose the first one, you're putting yourself a little bit in the corner," he explained.

"So we said we need to do everything we can to win the first one. I'm, of course, happy that we did."

PAH/SEA

Yaw Ampofo Ankrah explains 2026 World Cup ticketing process