CASABLANCA, Morocco — Ghana and Cameroon meet at Moulay Rachid Stadium on Sunday with top spot in Group D on the line, renewing a rivalry that has refused to tilt in either direction for more than a decade.
The two continental heavyweights have met 10 times since 2010, and the results read almost like a mirror image: two wins apiece and six draws. Their last meeting at this tournament, a group-stage clash in 2018, finished 1-1.
None of that carries much weight with Ghana's Swedish head coach, Kim Lars Björkegren.
"The history will always be there, but as a coach and a player, you live here and now in this bubble," Björkegren said. "What has happened before doesn't matter at all for us right now. It's all about performing tomorrow."
Kickoff is set for 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT) Sunday, with both sides sitting on three points after opening-round wins. Ghana breezed past Cabo Verde 2-0 behind an early Doris Boaduwaa goal, while Cameroon needed a Ngah Manga brace to see off Mali 2-1 in a considerably scrappier encounter. Whoever comes out on top Sunday is expected to take control of the group heading into the final round of fixtures.
Ghana's win wasn't short on chances — Björkegren's side produced 16 attempts and an expected-goals (xG) tally above 4.0 against Cabo Verde — but the coach knows Cameroon's defense will be far less forgiving.
"You don't miss a good chance on purpose, but you need to take care of the opportunities, especially against a strong team like Cameroon," he said. "We can't expect 16 chances. Maybe we cut it to eight, and then we probably need to score more than one goal to win the game."
Björkegren pointed to the middle of the park as the fixture's likely deciding factor, crediting the depth Cameroon can call on even when changes are made to the lineup.
"It's a team without big weaknesses. Even if they make changes, they always have a good starting eleven," he said. "To win the midfield is always important in football, and it's going to be the same thing tomorrow."
Sunday's result carries weight well beyond the group table. Reaching the semifinals in Morocco would send Ghana back to the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time since 2007 — the tournament's four semifinalists qualify automatically for Brazil 2027.
Before the tournament, Björkegren laid out three targets for his squad. "We have three targets," he said. "The first is to qualify from the group stage. The second, which is very important, is to reach the semifinals because that will qualify us for the World Cup. If we achieve that, then we have to go all the way and win WAFCON."
Midfielder Evelyn Badu, who has represented Ghana on the global stage since her U-20 World Cup debut in 2018, sounds just as unmoved by the history between these two sides as her coach.
"What you spoke about is already past; now we are in the present," Badu said. "We are just taking it game by game. I'm not here for individual honor and glory, but to make sure we reach our goals: to qualify for the World Cup and to win the WAFCON."
Ten years of near-identical results say Sunday's game could go either way. But ask the Black Queens, and they'll tell you: they're not playing against history. They're only playing Cameroon.