Cabo Verde seek to write WAFCON history against Ghana
A blend of national pride and boundless excitement feels the Cabo Verde squad ahead of their debut at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 in Morocco.
Africa’s westernmost point will be represented at the continental tournament for the very first time ever – a moment of reckoning for the island nation that has enjoyed global headlines recently thanks to the men’s heroics at the just concluded FIFA World Cup 2026.
Against Ghana, they face an in-form side that finished third at last year’s edition and are looking to build on that experience and exposure that has since propelled the team to commendable heights in Africa and beyond.
Nerves? What nerves?
Walking into the pre-match press conference in Casablanca on Tuesday morning, Cabo Verde head coach Silvéria Nédio was beaming with a sense of fulfilment – for representing her nation at the high table of African Football. A dream of hers since she was named head coach back in 2018 when the Cabo Verde women’s national team was created.
The 60-year old Cabo Verdian tactician, who is a former handballer, rhythmic gymnast and footballer, featured for FC Juventude in Cabo Verde as a winger. Her consistency over the years has led her to a historic feat for her nation on the grandest stage.
Her blond hair look and overall confidence gives her the aura of a coach who means business; one who has prepared her team for this stage and is ready for the challenge ahead.
“This is a very important game for us because it is our first ever game at the WAFCON. This is a historic moment for our country. It is an absolute privilege for us to be here. We hope that we can play a good game, that we can play with determination because we know that Ghana is a strong team and has strong determination. We are motivated within our team,” Nédioexplains.
This motivation did not start a few weeks but rather long before they even started their qualification campaign. And when they did, they made their intentions clear with a 6-3aggregate win over Guinea before overturning a 0-1 loss to Mali in Praia to registering a 4-2 win against Mali in the return leg in Bamako. They did so by scoring a total of 10 goals in four games while conceding six.
Defender Varsénia da Luz admitted that her teammates and herself are heavily motivated by the men’s side after their bravery stateside especially after holding the eventual finalists Spain and Argentina to unforgettable draws.
“We understand what is at stake for our country and we want to defend our nation’s colours. We saw what the men did at the World Cup and we want to come into this tournament with that momentum,” Da Luz says with her eyes lighting up.
Lessons from last WAFCON
After getting a good taste of the WAFCON a year ago, Ghana’s Swedish coach Kim Lars Björkegren has admitted to being in familiar territory this time round with even more on offer – a place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil.
“We are looking forward to the start of the tournament. We have been in a pre-camp for a couple of weeks together with the coaching staff. We have improved our fitness level and we feel that we are ready for our opening game. They [Cabo Verde] will play with a lot of passion like we saw the men at the World Cup but we can hopefully start the tournament with a win.”
The Black Queens will be making their 12th WAFCON appearance with only 10-time record champions Nigeria and 2022 winners South Africa having more participations – 14.
Björkegren further explains, “I have learnt to know the expectations from Ghana. It was the same for the men’s team [at the World Cup]. The plan was to go all the way. But for us, it is clear that we were happy with the bronze medal in the last WAFCON. I took over a team that had not performed well in a long time. Step by step. We went on to play against Russia and won 4-0. We played England in December [2025] even if we lost the game. We have a team that can go a long way. There are other 6-7 teams that can go a long way.”
For midfielder Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah who is playing her second straight WAFCON, their shaky start; a 2-0 loss to South Africa in the opener last year has the Black Queens on high alert to avoid complacency and kickstart their campaign with a positive result.
She says, “It is the start of the WAFCON. The girls are excited. We had a good time out last time. We are prepared to come back, we have gelled well as a team. We are ready to get going. As a team, we will go into this tournament with the quality that we have. Last time, it was a new tournament along with some nerves that were unknown. We have since gelled as a team and with the support from home, we are ready.”
The Stat
Ghana are facing a tournament debutant for the ninth time, including matches at the inaugural edition in 1998, when all the participating teams made their debuts and the Black Queens have never lost to a tournament debutant. Ghana’s previous eight games against tournament debutants produced 31 goals at an average of 3.88 per match.