“We have two objectives – but we have to tackle each at its own time,” said Banyana Banyana head coach to her team leading up to the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The first objective was to get out of the group and make it to the semi-finals, which would guarantee their ticket among 31 other nations at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Banyana Banyana had to get past Nigeria (2-1), Burundi (3-1) and Botswana (1-0) in the group stages. But they were not done yet – another obstacle in the form of Tunisia lay in wait in the quarterfinal.
They passed the test with another 1-0 victory, thanks to an early strike by forward Jermaine Seoposenwe.
And it was mission accomplished for their first assignment.
The next objective was to make the final and go for the elusive gold at the sixth time of asking.
They are half way through their second objective after defeating Zambia to reach back to back finals in a 1-0 win, courtesy of a late Linda Motlhalo penalty.
“In 2018, we got so close, and then there was no competition in 2020 (due to Covid). Before we started our camp, we sat down as a group and said, what is our aim? What is our objective? The first was to qualify for the World Cup. The second was to win the final, and I think we have to give ourselves this chance after coming so close in 2018. It is not just for us. It’s also for the players that were there in 2018. This is a huge victory,” Ellis told the gathered media at the post match press conference after the win against Zambia in the semi-finals.
On their road to the final they were met with many challenges, including dealing with Covid-19 positive cases and also having to do without their influential goal poacher, Thembi Kgatlana, who was ruled out of the tournament with an Achilles injury after the third game of the competition.
It is now history that they managed to overcome all of that and have now set their sights on the final piece of the puzzle – lifting the trophy.
Banyana Banyana have managed five wins in as many matches.
They conceded just two goals while scoring eight in the process.
Six players have been on the scoresheet – with Jermaine Seoposenwe and Linda Motlhalo accounting for two goals each.
Banyana Banyana’s 2022 WAFCON Road to the Final
- 2-1 vs Nigeria
(Jermaine Seoposenwe & Hilda Magaia)
- 3-1 vs Burundi
(Thembi Kgatlana, Amogelang Motau & Linda Motlhalo)
- 1-0 vs Botswana
(Nthabiseng Majiya)
- 1-0 vs Tunisia (quarterfinals)
Jermaine Seoposenwe
- 1-0 vs Zambia (semi-finals)
Linda Motlhalo
Now with the defending champions Nigeria out of the way, an added incentive is that a new winner will be crowned on Saturday.
Only the Super Falcons (9) and Equatorial Guinea (2) have won the continental title before.
Hosts Morocco, who are in their first ever WAFCON final, are standing in their way to glory. The North Africans also come high on confidence after five victories on the trot, including denying the defending champions a chance to lift the trophy for the 10th time.
“We will celebrate tonight like we normally do after every victory, and then we’ll work and watch the game and then prepare for the final. We want to give ourselves the best shot at going for the gold medal. Now that we got this out of the way, we will look ahead and look at the opponent, work out a strategy and then it’s up to the players like they were tonight; they were absolutely magnificent,” added Ellis.
South Africa and Morocco will face off in Rabat on Saturday, 23 July with kick-off at 22h00 (SA time).
Banyana’s Banyana’s Women’s Afcon finals history:
1995:
1st leg: Nigeria 4-1 Banyana Banyana
2nd leg: Banyana Banyana 1-7 Nigeria
2000:
Banyana Banyana 0-2 Nigeria
2008:
Banyana Banyana 1-2 Equatorial Guinea
2012:
Banyana Banyana 0-4 Equatorial Guinea
2018:
Banyana Banyana 1-0 Nigeria
Of all the 23 players selected for the tournament, Banyana Banyana have used all but two – goalkeepers Kaylin Swart and Regirl Ngobeni, with Andile Dlamini the preferred choice between the sticks in all the five matches so far. Kebotseng Moletsane, Tiisetso Makhubela and Thubelihle Shamase were stand-by players
Also, Dlamini is the only ever-present in the starting line-up since the start of the tournament, playing every minute of the competition.
By Matlhomola Morake
