Ghana beat Ivory Coast 1-2 at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca and will keep competing to reach a World Cup twenty years after their last one. The Black Queens moved into the intercontinental play-off FIFA will stage between November and February. Ivory Coast are out.
This was not a place at Brazil 2027. Africa had already awarded its four direct places — Morocco, Cameroon, Algeria and Malawi, for reaching the semi-finals — and this round did not touch them. What was at stake was the right to keep fighting for one of the last three: the intercontinental play-off brings together ten teams, the African sides enter through the first phase, and only two of the six in that phase reach February’s final round.
Winning in Casablanca leaves two obstacles ahead. Losing left none.
The two halves were symmetrical and opposite
Ghana had 67% of the ball in the first half and went in at the interval behind. Ivory Coast had 58% in the second and finished eliminated.
Ghana controlled the first half with the ball and Ivory Coast won it with a penalty. The Ivorians had three shots to Ghana’s seven, but led 1-0 because one of those three was taken from twelve yards: of the 0.83 expected goals Ivory Coast accumulated before the interval, 0.79 was the penalty.
The second half inverted completely. Ivory Coast took over possession and reached ten touches in the opposition box to Ghana’s four, yet produced only 0.29 expected goals in those forty-five minutes. Ghana produced 0.96 and scored twice.
The match finished with 1.12 expected goals for Ivory Coast and 1.36 for Ghana, eight shots to thirteen, and nineteen touches in the opposition box to thirteen. Ivory Coast got closer and shot less.
Two penalties, one for each side
Inès Konan scored the first on four minutes.
This is the same side a penalty cost a quarter-final. Against Algeria, at 1-1 and on 62 minutes, Rebecca Elloh put one wide and Algeria scored the winner two minutes later. This time the penalty went in, and it went in early.
Josephine Bonsu scored the second on 72 minutes, and that one settled the tie. The 26-year-old centre-back, named player of the match in Ghana’s opening game of this tournament, had a single shot all evening: the penalty.
Marfo had seven shots and the one that went in was a header
Princess Marfo took seven of Ghana’s thirteen shots. Four were headers, and so was the equaliser.
She had six shots in the first half without scoring. Two were on target and Océane Lamfir saved both, the 18-year-old goalkeeper closing those forty-five minutes having prevented 0.56 goals. On 59 minutes, Marfo headed in the only headed goal of the match.
Lamfir finished with three saves and 0.47 goals conceded above expectation. At the other end, Cynthia Konlan made a single save and prevented 0.19: a header from centre-back Mariam Diakité that came off 0.03 expected goals and 0.41 xGOT — a shot executed far better than it was chosen.
An injury and an absence
Ghana lost Doris Boaduwaa to injury in first-half stoppage time and replaced her with Evelyn Badu, who was booked on 85 minutes. Boaduwaa is the player who celebrated a second goal against Malawi in the quarter-final Ghana lost, only for VAR to rule it out with eleven minutes remaining.
Ivory Coast played without N’Sira Ouédraogo. The 18-year-old forward, sent off against Algeria, appeared neither in the starting eleven nor among the substitutes.
There were four yellow cards, two for each side, and no red.
The Liga F players
Rebecca Elloh, of Valencia, started and played the full match. She was the only Liga F player to take the field.
Koko Ange, of Costa Adeje Tenerife, stayed on the bench: Ivory Coast made only two substitutions and neither was hers. On the Ghanaian side, Comfort Yeboah, of Logroño United, did not come on either.
Twenty years
Ghana played three World Cups in a row — 1999, 2003 and 2007 — and have missed four since. The play-off is the route left to them to avoid a fifth.
Ivory Coast have played only one, Canada 2015, after finishing third at the 2014 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. They go home twelve years after returning to the tournament, having won their group unbeaten and scored eight goals in the first phase.
The two had met thirty days earlier in this same city, in a warm-up friendly Ghana won 1-0 through Sharon Sampson. Sampson came on in the 83rd minute, with the score already 1-2.
The tournament bracket closes on Sunday with the final between Cameroon and Malawi.
