Ghana suffered a 1-0 defeat against Namibia in their final round of qualifying games on Tuesday, December 5 at Pretoria.

Despite the defeat, the Queens have secured qualified for the tournament on a 3-2 aggregate after recording a 3-1 win in the first leg played at the Accra Sports Stadium. 

The loss also marked Nora Hauptle’s first defeat as head coach of the senior women’s national team after 11 games in charge.

Namibia scored the opening goal after 21 minutes from a setpiece and looked the better side in the entire game.

However, the Queens managed the game well with goalkeeper, Cynthia Konlan being forced into some decent saves in the second period of the encounter.

In the end, it was tears for Namibia despite the win on the day but Ghana had the last laugh winning on aggregate and sealing a spot to Morocco.

The Black Queens will play in the continental showpiece for the first time since it was hosted in Ghana in 2018.

Ghana hosted their opponent at the Accra Sports Stadium in the first leg of the final round of the qualifiers.

A brace from Doris Boaduwaa and a stunner from Portia Boakye sealed a 10th successive win for Ghana despite an own goal from the latter.

Boaduwaa set the tone for the victory in the 26th minute after tapping into an empty net from close range.

The Spartak Subotica forward capitalised on a miscommunication in Namibia’s box to put the Queens ahead in the game.

Then stepped up captain Portia Boakye who scored a spectacular to send the fans into a frenzy and put Ghana on a winning course.

The central defender, who has been on setpiece duties, beat the Namibia defence directly from a corner kick to double the lead.

Hauptle’s side went into the break two goals to be good with another impressive display under the belt.

The first chance after recess fell to Ghana after Jennifer Cudjoe put Anasthesia Achiaa through on goal but her square pass to Boaduwaa was intercepted by the goalkeeper.

But there was no stopping the Serbian-based forward minutes later as she registered her second goal of the game to extend the lead to three.

Namibia was given a lifeline after the hour mark as Portia Boakye’s attempted pass to goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan ended in her own net.

The own goal also means the senior women’s national team conceded for the first time since the appointment of the Swiss trainer.

Ghana will now travel to Namibia for the second leg on Tuesday, December 5.

The Queens booked their place in the next round of the qualifiers following an impressive 12-0 aggregate scoreline against Rwanda in the first round of the qualifiers.

Ghana recorded a 7-0 win in the first leg in Kigali before a 5-0 win in the return leg at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, September 26.

Black Queens head coach, Nora Hauptle will hope to overcome Namibia at the end of the two legs as she targets qualification to the next WAFCON.

The Black Queens are yet to lose a game and also concede a goal under the Swiss trainer since her appointment earlier this year.

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This follows after an impressive 12-0 aggregate victory over Rwanda in the two legs of the tie in the qualifiers.

Last week in Kigali, the Black Queens recorded a 7-0 in the first leg of the tie in a game.

However, in the reverse leg game played at the Accra Sports Stadium, Ghana defeated Rwanda 5-0.

Midfield maestro, Alice Kusi stole the show in front of the home fans. She opened the scoring in the 22^nd minute before adding two more goals to complete a sensational hat-trick.

Later in the game, other goals from Evelyn Badu and Stella Nyamekye saw Ghana cruising to a 5-0 second-leg victory.

With this triumph, the Black Queens will now face Namibia in the subsequent round of qualifiers, as they continue their quest in the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The Black Queens under Nora Hauptle will hope to win the Women’s AFCON for the first time in many years.

The Ghanaian side continued their impressive performance under Nora Huptle as the team recorded the win.

Doris Boaduwaa opened the scoring for the Queens in the opening minutes.

Evelyn Badu doubled the lead for the Ghanaian team with her strike in the ninth minute after latching on a pass from Grace Acheampong.

Priscilla Adubea’s header gave the Black Queens a third goal in the 30th minute.

After recess, Alice Kusi also got on the scoresheet with the fourth goal of the game for the Black Queens.

Evelyn Badu delivered a beautiful strike in the 64th minute to get Ghana’s fifth goal of the game and her second on the afternoon.

Ghana were awarded a penalty in the 65th minute but the resultant kick was missed by Jennifer Cudjoe.

Achiaa Anastasia made it six for the Queens with his long-range strike in the 75th minute following a howler from the goalkeeper.

Anastasia doubled the lead a few minutes later as the Black Queens rounded it up with a 7-0 win against their opponents.

Ghana host Rwanda in the second leg at the Accra Sports Stadium on September 26. 

The opponents were revealed during a draw ceremony held in Rabat on Thursday, July 6.

The winner of the two-legged fixture will proceed to play against the winner of the match between The Gambia and Namibia in the second round.

The first round of qualifiers is expected to occur from 18-26 September 2023 while the second round is scheduled for 27 November to 5 December 2023.

Eleven (11) teams are expected to qualify from the second round to join host  Morocco for the main tournament.