Ghana turn to women’s coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren after poor start to CAN 2027 qualifying

Ghana have appointed Black Queens manager Kim Lars Bjorkegren as interim coach of the men’s national team after losing their opening two matches in the CAN 2027 qualifiers.

The Swedish coach will take charge of the Black Stars while the Ghana Football Association continues its search for a permanent successor to Carlos Queiroz. He will be assisted by Ibrahim Tanko and Godwin Attram, with Fatawu Dauda appointed as goalkeeping coach.

The temporary arrangement is intended to ensure Ghana have a coaching team in place for the November international window while the federation considers its longer-term options.

The decision follows a difficult period for the four-time African champions, who failed to qualify for CAN 2025 before making a disastrous start to their 2027 campaign.

Ghana lost 2-0 away to Cote d’Ivoire in their opening fixture, then suffered a 4-2 home defeat by Gambia despite taking a two-goal lead. The back-to-back losses brought an end to Queiroz’s second spell in charge.

The Black Stars are bottom of Group C without a point and already trail both Cote d’Ivoire and Gambia by six points, with each of those teams winning their first two matches.

Bjorkegren’s first challenge will be a double-header against Somalia on 11 and 15 November. Somalia, known as the Ocean Stars, appear to be the most manageable opponents in the group on paper, but their recent performance against Cote d’Ivoire highlighted the threat they pose.

The Somali side held Cote d’Ivoire to 0-0 in Abidjan until the 89th minute, before conceding twice in the closing stages to lose 2-0. Ghana will therefore face a team capable of defending in a disciplined and organised manner.

The November matches are particularly important for the Black Stars, who will then face Cote d’Ivoire and Gambia again in March 2027. With four games still to play and two qualification places available, Ghana remain mathematically capable of reaching the tournament.

However, there is little room for further mistakes if the team are to avoid the embarrassment of missing a second successive edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.