A victory against Tanzania tonight would secure the South Africans a knockout stage berth as they continue their title defence campaign

By: Mpho Sekharume

Contrary to naysayers’ predictions and despite the initial hurdles of training boycotts due to payment disputes with the South African Football Association (SAFA), Banyana Banyana look set to make it out of the group stages of the Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tournament and keep their title defence hopes alive.

A victory against Tanzania this evening at Stade d'Honneur d'Oujda in Oujda, Morocco, would move the reigning African champions to six points in Group C, which would technically secure their berth in the knockout stages. This provided Mali defeats or draws with Ghana in an earlier Group C fixture on the same day.

Banyana Banyana won the tournament for the first time in their history back in 2022 and are looking to cement their growing championship stature on the continent by defending the title.

The win against Ghana served as a strong indication of this pursuit, however critics have cast doubt on the side’s title defence ambitions, citing the recent behind-the-scenes spat with SAFA and stalwart Thembi Kgatlana pulling out of the squad ahead of the tournament as some of the reasons why the champions will inevitably surrender their title.

The level of competition this year, also seems to be more intense with Senegal and Nigeria respectively also displaying early intentions to claim the newly unveiled WAFCON trophy in their respective groups.

Nigeria beat Tunisia 3-0 in their opening Group A fixture, while Senegal gave DR Congo a severe 4-0 hammering in Group A. Both teams sit comfortably at the summit of their respective groups and Banyana Banyana would want to make sure they beat Tanzania to avoid coming into contact with any of these two behemoths early in the knockout rounds.

A victory against Tanzania today would secure their passage into the knockout stages of the tournament and keep them favourably at the top of Group A, thus avoiding a potential clash with Nigeria or Senegal in the knockout phase

Meanwhile, Mali, who lie second in Group C after beating Tanzania, are hot on the heels of the South African ladies with hopes of also advancing to the knockouts.  After beating Tanzania in their opening tournament fixture, Mali is on equal points with Banyana Banyana and will overtake them should they notch up a second victory against Ghana, and South African loses against the Tanzanians tonight.

It would be a gross error for Banyana Banyana to underestimate Tanzania going into tonight’s fixture at Stade d'Honneur. Despite their loss to Mali, Tanzania most certainly proved that they are not necessarily an easy team to beat. Looking at the statistics coming out of their loss to Mali, it’s evident that Tanzania dominated the fixture despite the loss. They held the most possession of the ball throughout the match, while boasting superior goal attempts statistics.

It goes without saying that the Tanzanians are eyeing redemption against the South Africans. However, but the reigning champions are equally determined to advance to the next round and avoid an embarrassing early exit.

The match will kick off at 21:00.