Ghana Black Queens ready to face England Lionesses in FIFA friendly

The Black Queens are set to take on the Lionesses at St Mary’s at 7pm on Tuesday, 02 December.

Björkegren says it will be difficult to face England at home but says this game is important for him to assess his players and also to try and climb the football rankings in Africa.

"We are really jumping into deep water to see if we can swim against the best team in the world. It's going to be a really tough one, but we know that we have quality, and we need to challenge ourselves in what is the most difficult match in the world right now."

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The coach says he’s excited to use his whole squad and adds that they played really well when they had a friendly with another team in England over the weekend.

"It's always nice to reunite with the players and staff. They always have a big smile on their faces. We've had one good training session and one good friendly game so far. We played against a good team in England, we rotated the squad so everyone got their opportunity."

The Black Queens won bronze in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations this year after losing their semi-final match to hosts, Morocco, in penalties.

With the team having players who play in different leagues across the world, the Swedish coach says it’s very important for him to monitor how they perform for their clubs.

Björkegren has extensive experience in women’s football having won the Swedish league with Linköpings FC and also coached in China, Cyprus and Racing Louisville FC in the NWSL.

He says he is happy to have added a new player in the Ghana national team, Benedecte Simon.

"I went to Switzerland to watch her, and she is really good player with a lot of pace, power, and experience. She's already fit into the team, on and off the pitch."