While the score favored the defending champions, the Black Queens created multiple promising opportunities and showed a fighting spirit that has instilled hope in their fans for the rest of the tournament.

The match featured South Africa taking charge with precise finishes from Jermaine Seoposenwe and Linda Motlhalo, leveraging their experience and composure.

However, Ghana’s offensive efforts, spearheaded by Doris Boaduwaa, Alise Kusi, and Evelyn Badu, challenged South Africa’s goalkeeper Andile Dlamini, with shots hitting the crossbar and close-range saves preventing the Queens from equalizing.

Bjorkegren, reflecting on the match, conveyed a tempered disappointment with the outcome but commended his team's effort and development.

“Naturally, I’m a bit disappointed with the result, but not overly so regarding the performance,” he stated. “It was expected to be a close match, and I believe we demonstrated our ability to compete at this level.”

“I’m really pleased with how we started the game. I think we were the stronger team for the first half-hour until the penalty occurred. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

“After that, we allowed them the chance to score again. That’s a bit of an issue when we lose concentration, leading to too many giveaways. But overall, I think the performance was good,” he added.

Bjorkegren highlighted the advancements made leading up to the tournament: “This team has significantly improved both physically and tactically over the past month. The players are better equipped than before, and I’m confident we possess the quality to defeat any team in this group and the tournament.”

Despite Ghana currently being at the bottom of Group C, the Swedish coach remains hopeful about their prospects.

“We faced the previous champions, which might be the toughest match you can play in this tournament.

“I believe we executed many positive aspects. If we carry those into the next two matches, I’m quite sure we’ll reach the playoffs, which is the most important thing.”

The Black Queens will regroup and prepare to face Mali on Thursday before taking on Tanzania three days later.