In the second leg of their qualifying match, the Black Queens defeated Rwanda 5-0 to move on to the next stage of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifications.
Midfield guru Alice Kusi stole the show with a stunning hat-trick, and Evelyn Badu chipped in with a goal of her own to give the Queens a commanding 12-0 aggregate score after the two games. The senior women’s football team has made a stunning comeback under the direction of head coach Nora Hauptle, keeping a clean sheet in all of their games so far.
Alice Kusi opened the scoring in the second leg at the Accra Sports Stadium with a breathtaking long-range goal from 25 yards, kicking off a commanding performance.
Four minutes later, Kusi scored her second goal of the game to double the advantage. When she scored her third goal in the 37th minute, capping off an outstanding performance, she had a hat trick and was awarded the game’s MVP. Evelyn Badu added another goal to the Black Queens’ score in the first half, which helped to contribute to their victory.
The Queens maintained their cool and laid-back attitude in the second half. In the 93rd minute, Black Queens forward Stella Nyamekye scored again to put an end to the game and give them a resounding victory. With this victory, the Black Queens will continue their quest for a spot in the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations by playing Namibia in the following round of qualifiers.
Before this particular game, Rwanda’s women’s football team, Grace Nyinawumuntu was suspended by the national federation (Ferwafa) as a result of her inflammatory comments on Ghana’s Black Queens.
After Rwanda lost to Ghana in an African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier, Nyinawumuntu said the Ghanaian players were like men, a comment that clearly violates the rules of the game.
According to Nyinawumuntu’s remarks, her team’s 7-0 loss in the game played in Kigali on Wednesday was a result of them being intimidated by the Ghanaian players’ physicality.
She stated, “They have girls who we think have male hormones. They are girls who are like men. Our team was scared… when they got to the pitch, they conceded because they were scared.”
Rwanda’s football federation (FERWAFA) sent a statement to AFP confirming the coach had been “suspended until further notice, due to (the) inappropriate choice of diction she used after the game between Rwanda and Ghana”.
FERWAFA said “the remarks made by the coach of the national women about the players of the Ghana national women’s team are in violation of the rules and values of football in Rwanda.
“We remind members of FERWAFA to desist from behaviour and remarks that are not aligned with the truth, have no factual basis and are not professional.”
