Ghana’s Black Queens have swept aside Mauritius with a 10-0 aggregate win to reach the third round of African qualifying for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Now the real test arrives. Standing between them and the final qualifying round is Zambia’s Copper Queens, and Ghana has a painful history with them.
A Dominant Round, a Different Challenge
Ghana won 3-0 in Mauritius and then 7-0 in Sekondi. It was the kind of result that builds belief. But hammering a lower-ranked side tells you little about how a team handles real pressure, and Zambia will provide plenty.
Zambia come into the tie in decent form. They lost 2-1 away to Uganda in the first leg, then won 4-1 at home to go through 5-3 on aggregate. That is a team that knows how to recover.
The history is what makes this tie so loaded. In the qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics, the same two sides met at the same stage. Zambia won the first leg 1-0 in Accra, then drew 3-3 in Ndola to go through 4-3 on aggregate. Ghana’s Olympic dream ended there.
It’s a reminder that this opponent has already shown it can hurt Ghana when it matters most. Zambia also hold a recent head-to-head edge, and their growing experience on the international stage means they won’t be rattled by occasion.
What Ghana Will Need To Do
Goals alone won’t be enough. Against Zambia, the Black Queens will need:
- tighter defensive organisation
- calm under pressure
- ruthlessness in front of goal when chances come
Over two legs, one lapse in concentration can undo a whole tie. As the Paris campaign showed, small moments decide this sort of contest.
There is also a side story. Swiss coach Nora Häuptle led Ghana through the Paris 2024 qualifiers against this same opponent, then reportedly took charge of Zambia in January 2025. At the time, her knowledge of the Zambian players was said to have helped her get the job. That gave her an inside view of the Black Queens’ strengths and weaknesses.
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But the picture has since changed. Zambia reportedly parted ways with her in September 2026, with assistant Charles Haalubono taking over as interim coach. Unless that changes again, she won’t be on the touchline for this tie. Even so, the coaching link adds another layer to a rivalry already full of history.
For Ghana, the objective is clear. Avoid repeating the mistakes that cost them a place in Paris and take a decisive step towards a first-ever appearance at the Olympic women’s football tournament.
The attacking quality is there. What will probably decide it is discipline, defensive solidity, preparation and composure across both legs. The win over Mauritius lifted confidence, but Zambia will demand far more. To keep the Los Angeles 2028 dream alive, the Black Queens will need determination, tactical intelligence and a plan to shut down the Copper Queens.
Can the Black Queens turn the pain of their last meeting into a different ending this time?