Ivory Coast vs Ghana Women FIFA Women's World Cup Play-In Preview
Ivory Coast and Ghana are looking to secure a spot at the FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying playoffs when they clash on Thursday.
Both teams will be keen to make amends after disappointing WAFCON campaigns and could be set to serve up a thrilling contest.
Key Stats
- Ivory Coast have scored in their last four matches.
- Ivory Coast have conceded in their last four matches.
- Ghana have scored in four of their last five matches in all competitions.
- Ghana have conceded in their last three matches.
Slight Edge for Ghana
Ghana have three wins while Ivory Coast have picked up two victories, with two draws in the last seven matches. Both teams met in a friendly ahead of the WAFCON, with the Black Queens earning a 1-0 victory.
Ivory Coast Fell Just Short
Ivory Coast come into this clash off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Algeria in their WAFCON quarter-final clash. They struck early in the contest through Ines Konan but capitulated following a red card to Nsira Ouedraogo.
That was the first defeat in the tournament for Ivory Coast, who will consider the red card a mitigating factor in the result. Les Elephantes had been unbeaten in the tournament, with two wins and a draw from three group stage matches.
One of the positives for Ivory Coast is their attacking quality, having scored in their last four matches. However, Reynald Pedros' team are often exposed at the back and are without a clean sheet in all four fixtures.
Ghana Below their Best
Ghana are also coming off a quarter-final defeat, having lost 2-1 to WAFCON debutants Malawi. They failed to build on Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah’s early opener and were ultimately pegged back.
It was a disappointing WAFCON campaign for Ghana, who were well below their best in the tournament. The only win for Kim Bjorkegren's team in the competition came in their opening fixture, a 2-0 victory over Cape Verde.
Like the Ivorians, Ghana have shown some attacking quality lately, scoring in four of their last five matches in all competitions. However, they have struggled to keep things tight at the back, conceding in the last three fixtures in this run.
Team News and Predicted Line-ups
Ivory Coast (4-4-2): Aramatou Diakite; Aicha Fofana, Anastasie Gbehi, Mariam Diakite, Katchi Yapo; Akebie Abrogoua, Grace Sery, Bernadette Amani, Rebecca Elloh; Ines Konan, Ami Diallo.
Ivory Coast will be without forward Ouedraogo, who is suspended following her red card last time out. Diallo is likely to come in and partner Konan up front while Gbehi and Diakite should continue at centre-back.
Ghana (4-4-2): Cynthia Konlan; Comfort Yeboah, Portia Boakye, Susan Duah, Afua Bonsu Kyerewaa; Alice Kusi, Grace Asantewaa, Jennifer Cudjoe, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah; Evelyn Badu, Doris Boaduwaa.
Boye-Hlorkah looked lively for Ghana last time out and should retain her place in the team. Boakye and Duah are set to continue in central defence while Boaduwaa should feature in attack once again.