Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has showered praise on his captain, describing her as his extra arm on and off the pitch after Ghana’s qualification to the quarterfinals of the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Swedish coach says the captain’s leadership has been crucial to the team’s progress in the tournament, both for her communication with the players and her example on the field.
“She means so much. She’s like the extra arm for me, really helpful. Sometimes I don’t need to say too much. She can do it for me. And that’s the kind of captain that you want,” Björkegren said.
Björkegren reserved special praise for her work rate and mentality during games, insisting her fighting spirit has become infectious within the Black Queens squad.
“But also, I mean, the most important is how she’s leading on the pitch with her fighting spirit. I mean, she’s brutal. I mean, she really puts her body there. And she’s a real fighter.”
The coach added that the captain commands the respect of the entire dressing room, which was evident when she was named Player of the Match in one of Ghana’s group games.
“And the way she’s playing, of course, everybody needs to respect her and everybody does. And as you said, you can see when she is the player of the match that everybody is so happy for her because it’s so well deserved,” he concluded.
Ghana is through to the quarterfinals of the WAFCON and is now one win away from securing qualification to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
