Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana face one of the most important matches of their WAFCON 2026 campaigns.

The match will be played at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, with a very clear scenario: the winner will advance to the inter-confederation playoffs on the road to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, while the loser will be eliminated from World Cup contention.

Don't miss this decisive WAFCON 2026 clash LIVE on beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS Connect

One last chance to keep dreaming

Côte d'Ivoire entered this edition of WAFCON following the tournament's expansion from 12 to 16 teams and quickly emerged as one of the competition's biggest revelations. The Lady Elephants finished top of Group B and ended the group stage with eight goals, the highest total among the 16 participating teams.

However, their path to the semifinals came to an end against Algeria. The dismissal of N'Sira Ouedraogo in the 42nd minute left the team with 10 players and changed the course of a match that also represented an opportunity to secure direct qualification for the World Cup.

Now, the team coached by Reynald Pedros will have another opportunity. The coach, who led Morocco to their first World Cup in 2023, is confident his team can respond and take advantage of this second route to remain in the race for Brazil 2027.

Ghana looking to return to the elite

On the other side will be a team that knows what it means to compete at a World Cup. Ghana qualified for the 1999, 2003 and 2007 editions in succession, but have been absent from the biggest tournament in international football ever since.

The Black Queens, who finished third in the previous edition of WAFCON, also saw their chance of securing direct qualification slip away in this tournament. Now, Kim Lars Björkegren's team will have to overcome Côte d'Ivoire to extend their World Cup journey.

Recent history also points to a very close contest. The two teams have faced each other three times in less than two years. Ghana won the most recent friendly 1-0, played on July 14 in Casablanca; before that, they drew 3-3 in May 2025, while Côte d'Ivoire claimed a 1-0 victory one month later.

A match with no margin for error

The winner of this match will not qualify directly for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. Instead, the reward will be a place in the inter-confederation playoffs, where they will have to navigate another stage to secure one of the final available tickets to Brazil.

Africa will have two representatives in the preliminary playoff phase, which will initially feature six teams. The top two teams will then advance to the final phase, where the last World Cup spots will be decided.

For Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, therefore, the stakes could hardly be higher: winning means keeping the World Cup dream alive; losing means the road to Brazil 2027 comes to an end.

Don't miss Côte d'Ivoire vs Ghana, along with all the WAFCON 2026 action, LIVE on beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS Connect