Kim Björkegren elated with Black Queens win over Senegal
Head Coach of the Black Queens, Kim Lars Björkegren, believes his side deserved their hard-fought 1-0 victory over Senegal in Saturday’s international friendly held in Dakar.
The match served as part of Ghana’s preparations for the 2025 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) scheduled for July in Morocco.
A 24th-minute header from midfielder Evelyn Badu proved decisive, handing the Queens a confidence-boosting win despite having to play the final 27 minutes with ten players after Anasthesia Achiaa was shown a red card.
Speaking after the game, Björkegren expressed his satisfaction with both the result and the performance—especially in the opening stages.
“Of course, this is professional football, you are always happy when you win. For us, there was one or the most important thing—to win the game,” he said.
The Swedish tactician acknowledged the physical nature of the contest but was quick to point out that his side were well-prepared for the challenge posed by the Teranga Lionesses.
“We knew before the game it was going to be a tough one for us, a tough away game. We knew that Senegal can be physical,” he noted. “I felt the start was pretty good. I would say the first 30 minutes—we also scored the goal, a beautiful one I think, and exactly how we want to play with the perfect cross. And Evelyn came from the number 10 position with a great header. I think we started the game pretty well.”
Björkegren, however, admitted that as the first half progressed, his team began to get drawn into Senegal’s more physical style of play, something they had aimed to avoid.
“I felt in the end of the first half that we were coming in a little bit to the physical style—with more stops, more like the Senegal way to play in this game. So, we actually talked about it at halftime, that we needed to play football on the ground, play a little bit faster again, but we didn’t.”
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Ghana held firm to secure the win, a result Björkegren sees as a vital step in their WAFCON preparations.
The Black Queens will meet the Teranga Lionesses once again in a reverse fixture scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, also in Dakar.
