Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has challenged his players to show courage, intensity and self-belief as they prepare to face European champions England in an international friendly on Friday.

The match is scheduled for 19:00 GMT at St Mary’s Stadium, where Ghana will test their strength against one of the world’s top-ranked sides.

Addressing the media ahead of the game, Björkegren referenced England’s recent 3-0 victory over China, noting that the Asian side’s timid approach contributed to their defeat.

“England played great, and I respect China,” he said. “But when you’re 16th in the world, and you play afraid against England, who are much stronger, you get punished. That’s exactly what happened.”

Ranked 67th globally, the Black Queens enter the fixture as underdogs, but the Swedish coach made it clear that Ghana must adopt a different mentality.

“We need to attack the game differently. We believe in ourselves. We know we have strong players willing to tackle, work hard and win their duels,” he stated.

“Our game plan is to win. Whether that’s realistic or not doesn’t matter — we will aim for it.”

Björkegren praised the team’s unity, determination and ambition, insisting these qualities must define their performance on the pitch.

“I like the fact that we work hard and dream big, and we do it together,” he said.

“You’re going to see a hard-working team. Whatever the result, we’ll give everything. If we stay brave and leave everything out there, people watching will see we did something really good.”

The match serves as a crucial test for the Black Queens as they continue their rebuild under the new technical direction.