Banyana Banyana set their sights on WAFCON glory in Morocco

Banyana Banyana delivered another memorable performance as they secured qualification for next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, set to be hosted in Morocco. But uncertainty still looms over the composition of their technical team going forward, as well as a lack of confirmed fixtures for the coming months.

South Africa claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win against the Democratic Republic of Congo at Dobsonville Stadium in the second leg of the qualifiers.

Banyana carried a 1-1 advantage from the first leg in the DRC, and with everything to play for, a late winner from Thembi Kgatlana was enough to give South Africa a 2-1 aggregate victory and a shot at winning their second WAFCON title in three attempts.

The Mexico-based Kgatlana had missed the 2024 WAFCON and her timely return ensured that South Africa had the firepower they lacked in the first leg.

With Banyana led by assistant coach Thinasonke Mbuli amid ongoing uncertainty over the future of head coach Desiree Ellis, South Africa had to work tirelessly in a match that carried a lot at stake, including the possibility of World Cup qualification next year if they reach the semi-finals .

Coming into the match, Mbuli said her side was targeting nothing less than a win. While the first half produced some decent opportunities, the second half kept everyone on edge as the visitors refused to go down without a fight. 

Banyana assistant coach was relieved that Kgatlana’s return had the impact that was needed and they also managed to keep a cleansheet.

“Leading up to the match I had said that we needed to win,” Mbuli said, after the game.

“We were frustrated towards the end of the game because the score was goalless and they were coming hard on us. With just one mistake, you concede a goal, and then you are out.

“I have to give a lot of credit to the defenders for absorbing the pressure. The opposition goalkeeper made a lot of saves from Thembi, and that was the reason we kept her in the game, because we knew that with one more chance she would score.”

While Mbuli was also pleased over her side’s resilience despite the mammoth challenge posed by the Central African side, but she also believes they could have made things easier for themselves had they executed better.

“Our strength was combination play; at times we looked good when on the ball and playing in half-spaces. At times it worked playing behind so that Thembi could run, but most of the time we played long balls, and they were winning those balls because of their physicality and aerial strength.

“Our offensive plan was that we must finish the action because their game is based on transition. When we were in the final third, we lost a lot of balls due to poor decision-making. Sometimes we were rushing or forcing balls to the other sides.”

With Banyana securing their place at next year’s edition, it will now be up to Safa to resolve their internal issues and avoid disruptions heading into the tournament.

On Wednesday, Independent Media reached out to Safa for an update on the coaching situation. Their response was that a statement would be released soon, with the team’s next few fixtures also expected to be confirmed in due time.