One of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations’ most enduring rivalries resumes on Sunday as Ghana and Cameroon face off in a pivotal Group D encounter that could have a major bearing on qualification for the knockout stage.
The two sides meet at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca with both carrying momentum after winning their opening matches of the 2026 tournament.
For Ghana’s Black Queens and Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses, victory would strengthen their grip on one of the group’s qualification places and potentially move the winners to the brink of the quarter-finals.
Sunday’s fixture will be the 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations meeting between the two nations, underlining the rich history shared by two of the continent’s traditional powerhouses.
History favours Ghana, who have won five of their previous nine WAFCON meetings with Cameroon. The Indomitable Lionesses have claimed three victories, while one match ended in a draw.
The rivalry has consistently produced entertaining contests, with every previous WAFCON meeting between the teams featuring goals.
Their first encounter came during the 1998 group stage when Ghana secured a 3-1 victory. The Black Queens followed that success with further wins in 2000 and 2002 to establish early dominance in the fixture.
Cameroon eventually broke through in dramatic fashion during the 2004 semi-finals, defeating Ghana 1-0 after extra time thanks to Françoise Bella’s silver goal in the 95th minute.
Since then, the balance has remained remarkably close.
Ghana edged Cameroon 2-1 in the 2006 group stage before Cameroon responded with a 2-1 victory four years later.
The teams also met in 2014 and 2016, with both matches ending 1-0. Ghana claimed victory in the group-stage contest before Cameroon prevailed in the semi-finals two years later.
Their most recent meeting at the tournament came in 2018 when they shared a 1-1 draw.
Portia Boakye gave Ghana the lead before Christine Manie equalised from the penalty spot before half-time.
That draw had contrasting consequences for the two teams, eliminating Ghana while Cameroon progressed as Group A winners ahead of Mali.
Despite the evenly matched nature of the rivalry, narrow scorelines have often defined the contest.
Of the previous eight meetings that produced a winner, six were decided by a single goal.
Only Ghana’s 3-1 victory in 1998 and 2-0 success in 2000 came by margins greater than one goal.
The highest-scoring encounter remains the memorable 2002 semi-final, when Ghana defeated Cameroon 3-2 after extra time thanks to Adjoa Bayor’s golden goal in the 120th minute.
Sunday will also mark the seventh group-stage meeting between the countries.
Ghana have won four of the previous six group-stage encounters, with Cameroon recording one victory and the other match ending in a draw.
However, recent tournament history offers encouragement for Cameroon.
On the last three occasions the sides have been drawn together in the same group, Cameroon progressed beyond the first round each time, doing so in 2010, 2014 and 2018.
Both teams have also demonstrated defensive resilience in this fixture.
Ghana have recorded two clean sheets against Cameroon at WAFCON, while Cameroon have matched that feat with two shutouts of their own.
With both nations beginning their 2026 campaigns with victories, Sunday’s meeting offers more than just local bragging rights.
