By Amaechi Agbo

Ahead of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFOC) due to start in Morocco on Saturday, July 25, the Black Queens of Ghana on Tuesday defeated Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 in a friendly match

The closed-door encounter, played at the Stade Père Jégo in Casablanca, Morocco, was decided by a late strike from attacker Sharon Sampson, who netted the winner to hand Ghana a morale-boosting victory.

The match provided Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren with another valuable opportunity to assess his squad as he fine-tune his team ahead of the continental showpiece.

For Côte d’Ivoire, the fixture also served as an important part of their preparations as they continued to build towards the tournament in Morocco.

Ghana have been drawn in Group D of the 2026 WAFCON, where they will face Cameroon, Cape Verde, and Mali in the group stage.

With the tournament set to kick off on July 25, the Black Queens will now turn attention to another high-profile match against defending champions, the Super Falcons of Nigeria on Saturday in Casablanca