Ghana missed out on automatic qualification to the 2027 Women's World Cup following their defeat to Malawi in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

A late Rose Kadzere goal broke the hearts of the Black Queens as they lost 2-1 at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, August 9.

Kim Lars Bjorkegren made no changes to the starting lineup that drew in the final group game against Mali, with Evelyn Badu and Comfort Yeboah keeping their places in the team.

Ghana came into the fixture as runners-up in Group D after finishing behind Cameroon, while Malawi finished ahead of Nigeria and Zambia in Group C.

Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah opened the scoring for Ghana after only six minutes, scoring from a rebound to give the Black Queens the lead.

Evelyn Badu should have made it two for the Black Queens, but her header after Alice Kusi's cross went just wide of the post.

However, the lead lasted just minutes as Temwa Chawinga scored from a wicked deflection off Grace Asantewaa to level proceedings.

Doris Boaduwaa came close to restoring Ghana's lead, but her shot from just outside the box was saved by the Malawian goalkeeper.

Cynthia Konlan made a good save to keep out a Malawi header just before the break.

The two teams went into recess with the scoreline 1-1.

After the recess, Boaduwaa thought she had restored the lead for Ghana, but her goal was chopped off for an offside in the buildup.

Jennifer Cudjoe headed from a Ghanaian corner, but it also wasn't enough to threaten.

Malawi scored in the 79th minute to take the lead for the first time in the game after a great spell of possession.

Cynthia kept Ghana in the game with a good save to deny Temwa Chawinga.

Despite their late fight, Ghana were unable to draw level as they missed out on a place in the semifinals as well as automatic qualification to the 2027 Women's World Cup.

Malawi will face Algeria in the semifinals of the competition on Wednesday, August 12, at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat.

The Black Queens will, however, face Cote d'Ivoire in a playoff in Casablanca to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.