Ghana's Black Queens thrashed Mauritius 7-0 in Takoradi to storm into the third round of Olympic qualifying, where Zambia await.
Ghana's Black Queens are marching on toward Los Angeles 2028. They battered Mauritius 7-0 at the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi on Tuesday to seal a 10-0 aggregate win and book a third-round date with Zambia in the CAF Women's Olympic qualifiers.
The tie was effectively settled before the second leg began, with Ghana holding a 3-0 cushion from the first meeting in Mauritius. Back on home soil, the Queens showed no mercy. Captain Portia Boakye, Evelyn Badu and Ajegipina Zakaria all found the net before the break, and the hosts kept their foot on the gas after the restart.
The bench then joined the party. Benedicte Simon, Jennifer Cudjoe, Nancy Amoh and Mukarama Abdulai each scored in the second half, a statement of squad depth that Ghana's next opponents will have noted.
Those opponents are Zambia, who edged past Uganda 5-3 on aggregate to reach this stage. It sets up a heavyweight clash between two sides with serious Olympic ambitions. The third-round ties are scheduled for February 23 to March 6, 2027, and the eight aggregate winners will move on to the fourth round on October 4-12, 2027.
The road is long. The African qualifiers feature five knockout rounds, and the last four teams standing will contest the final stage from November 23 to December 4, 2027, to decide the continent's two Olympic representatives. Ghana have shown they can score, and now they must prove they can handle a tougher test against Zambia.
