Ghana’s female senior national team – The Black Queens – suffered a setback to Zambia on Friday when they team lost 1-0 to the Copper Queens in the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Striker Racheal Kundananji fired home the opener and the only goal of the game for Zambia on the 18th minute after the copper Queens teared off a counter attack.
The Ghana defence were at sixies and sevens, giving the Zambia attacker enough space to fire home the winner.
The Black Queens improved their game after the gaol but could not restore parity before the break.
It was Evelyn Badu who came close to drawing level for Ghana a few minutes before the break but her long drive missed the post by inches.
Ghana returned for the second half with renewed energy, dominated play but the copper queens defended well to deny the black queens the equalizer.
Despite the good fight from the Black Queens, the team could not score and suffered a narrow defeat at the end of the 90 minutes.
After the defeat today, there is pressure on the Black Stars heading into the second leg to be played in Zambia.
Nora Hauptle and her charges will take on the Copper Queens at the Levi Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on Wednesday to decide who makes it to the final phase of the qualifiers.
The Black Queens are expected to depart Ghana by Saturday to Zambia to prepare for the crunchy second leg encounter.