2023 in Review: Black Queens are national team of the year

The year 2023 has not been an entirely successful one for the various national teams. The over thirty sports achieved relatively little when it comes to national team accomplishments.

However, one team that has stood out greatly is the senior female national team, the Black Queens.

Under the direction of Swiss trainer Nora Hauptle, the Black Queens have enjoyed the best year of any Ghanaian national team.

The Black Queens finished the year as the team with the most wins, the team with the longest winning streak, and the team with the fewest goals conceded.

Nora Hauptle's charges scored a whopping 34 goals in just 11 matches while conceding 2.

In the 11 games, they won 10 in a row and lost the last match, which was their only defeat in the calendar year.

Their winning streak started with a 3-0 win over Benin in a friendly, another 3-0 and 1-0 wins over Senegal in a doubleheader friendly, 3-0 and 4-0 wins over Guinea in the 2024 Paris Olympics Games qualifiers, 0-7 and 5-0 wins over Rwanda in the 2024 WAFCON qualifiers, a 3-0 Benin in the first leg 2024 Paris Olympics Games qualifiers tie, a 3-1 win over Namibia in the final in the 2024 WAFCON qualifier.

The Queens lost 1-0 in the second leg of their tie with Namibia, who became the only team to beat Hauptle's side and also prevent them from scoring. Despite the defeat, they qualified 3-2 on aggregate.

Speaking after a successful year, Nora Hauptle stated that she is proud of what the team achieved, adding that they will have a better Christmas celebration.

“I’m proud of this year we won out of 11, 10 games and I think we can have a nice Christmas,” Coach Nora Hauptle said after the loss to Namibia.