LIVE | WAFCON: Banyana Banyana v Morocco
· The South African
Banyana Banyana are just one victory away from qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil after booking their place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso.
Visit esporist.org for more information.
Thembi Kgatlana scored the decisive goal in the first half as South Africa secured second place in Group B to advance to the knockout stages, where they will face tournament hosts Morocco in Rabat on Saturday, 8 August.
Kick-off is at 22:00 (SA time).
A place in the semi-finals will also secure qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
South Africa finished the group stage on four points, three behind group winners Ivory Coast, who defeated Tanzania 2-1 in the other Group B fixture.
Desiree Ellis praises grit over glamour
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis admitted her side made life difficult for themselves after taking an early lead but was delighted with the resilience they showed to grind out the result.
“I said it was going to be a tough one, and we made it a little bit difficult for ourselves. We scored early and stopped playing,” Ellis said.
“You’ve got to give credit to the players though, it wasn’t pretty and sometimes it doesn’t have to be pretty. Defensively we were organised and I think we had one or two chances that could have put the game to bed, but I thought the team played very well.”
Ellis made two changes to the side that drew with Ivory Coast, bringing Isabella Ludwig and Hildah Magaia into the starting line-up in place of Bongeka Gamede and Nthabiseng Majiya.
The victory completed an impressive turnaround after the defending African champions opened their campaign with a defeat to Tanzania before drawing with Ivory Coast.
“It’s not how you start, but how you finish,” Ellis said.
“The fightback shows what this team is made of, and we keep working on being better and that’s all we can do. Now the games are coming thick and fast, there’s no margin for error.
“We have also showed that we can grind out results. I think in 2018 we played probably the best football of the tournament and we didn’t win it. In 2022 we mixed it up, so we’ve learned that you can’t play pretty all the time and that’s what people expect from Banyana Banyana.
“But we will take it step by step and day by day.”
Milestones for Banyana Banyana
There was more reason to celebrate for South Africa beyond qualification.
Captain Refiloe Jane marked her birthday with victory, while Hildah Magaia and Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado both reached the milestone of 50 international caps.
Kgatlana’s match-winning display also earned her the Player of the Match award.