The female senior national team of Ghana succumbed to a defeat to South Africa in the Group C opener of the ongoing Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
South Africa started their title defending campaign by inflicting a painful 2-0 defeat on the Black Queens of Ghana in the crunchy encounter at the Honneur Stadium.
The defending champions looked dangerous in the early minutes as Black Queens goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan was forced to make an early save to deny Jermaine Seoposenwe from netting the opener in the 12th minute.
The ‘Bayana Bayana’ continued their impressive performance to pile pressure on the backline of Ghanaians to commit a penalty in the 26th minute.
After a VAR review, the spot-kick awarded to South Africans was brilliantly converted by Linda Motlhalo in the 28th minute of the game.
Six minutes later, 31-year-old Jermaine Seoposenwe doubled the lead for South Africa with a superb finish to hand them a 2-0 lead into the break.
In the second half, Ghana took over possession to dominate the early minutes as Alice Kusi came close to reducing the deficit, but her effort was denied by the woodwork.
Ghana coach Kim Bjorkegren made a tactical substitution in the 67th minute by introducing Princess Marfo, Priscilla Adubea, and Nancy Amoh as replacements for Doris Boaduwaa, Alice Kusi, and Wasiima Mohammed, respectively.
The introduction of the trio aided the Black Queens in mounting pressure on the defence of the South Africans. However, none of their efforts earned them at least a consolation goal.
Ghana was once again denied from scoring by the woodwork when Comfort Yeboah calmly headed a cross from Evelyn Badu, but her header came off the crossbar.
The Black Queens will play Mali in the second Group C game on Friday, July 11, 2025, before they play Tanzania in the final group match on Monday, July 14, 2025.
