Banyana Banyana left it late to progress to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) quarter-finals after beating Burkina Faso 1-0 with another Thembi Kgatlana goal in their final Group B match at Prince Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca on Tuesday night.
Banyana’s victory meant they finished second in the group with four points, three behind leaders Ivory Coast, who did them a favor by beating Tanzania in their concurrent fixture.
The South Africans will be grateful to Ivory Coast for the win, as any other result against Tanzania would have counted against Banyana on the head-to-head rule, following their loss to the Twiga Stars in their opening game.
Banyana will know they had an underwhelming group-stage campaign. As such, they need to step up their game against hosts Morocco in the quarter-finals on Saturday if they are to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil as one of the four Wafcon semi-finalists.
A loss against Morocco wouldn’t mark the end of their World Cup hopes. Instead, they would have to earn qualification the hard way – via the grueling continental and inter-continental play-offs.
It had been a decade since Banyana last entered the final round of the Wafcon group stage needing a win to progress. Having delivered back then by hammering Egypt 5-0, confidence was high that they could repeat the feat in Casablanca.
Banyana did their part by beating Burkina Faso 1-0. Ivory Coast did theirs as well, defeating Tanzania 2-1 in a simultaneous kick-off to ensure they finished top of the group ahead of the second-placed South Africa.
An early exit for Banyana would have stung. They found themselves in this precarious position due to their own errors, as sloppy defending led to a defeat against Tanzania before they were held to a draw by Ivory Coast.
Despite those shortcomings, coach Desiree Ellis maintained that confidence was high in camp and that they would come out guns blazing against Burkina Faso while hoping for a favorable result in the other fixture.
And that is precisely what happened. Kaylin Swart saved Banyana from an early scare by intercepting a dangerous through ball. That eased Banyana’s nerves, allowing them to dictate play and make inroads into the final third.
Birthday girl and captain Refiloe Jane, 34, controlled the tempo of the match while giving Isabella Ludwig – one of two changes to the starting lineup from the team that faced Ivory Coast – ample freedom to roam.
Banyana’s persistence paid off when the Lady Stallions failed to clear their lines, allowing Thembi Kgatlana to latch onto Fikile Magama’s pass and slot the ball past goalkeeper Nina Dabilgou.
Kgatlana should have put Banyana in a commanding position with her second of the night, but she ballooned her effort over from close range after being set up by Jane from a well-worked free-kick routine.
Banyana hung onto their lead heading into the break. Ellis then made half-time changes, bringing on Amogelang Motau and Lebohang Ramalepe for Linda Motlhalo and Noxolo Cesane, respectively.
Ellis’ troops nearly lost their grip on the lead shortly after, as referee Aline Etong awarded Burkina Faso a penalty after ruling that Antonia Maponya had brought down an opponent through on goal. However, after reviewing the incident at the VAR monitor, she overturned her decision.
After surviving that scare, Banyana pushed more numbers forward with Kgatlana driving the attack. However, Kgatlana’s hard work went unrewarded, as her fellow attackers failed to finish off her deliveries inside the box.
Ellis threw on more attacking options, including Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado, to support Kgatlana up front. While Banyana couldn’t find a two-goal cushion, it ultimately did not matter – Kgatlana’s strike and Ivory Coast’s victory were enough to send Banyana into the quarter-finals.
