Banyana Aim For Bronze After WAFCON Final Disappointment
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has painfully admitted that it’s still a bitter pill to swallow that they couldn’t reach the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final.
However, her team, which painfully lost 2-1 to Nigeria in the semi-final, is determined to go home with something to smile about.
Banyana Banyana entered the WAFCON 2024 tournament with one goal: to defend the trophy they won in the 2022 edition. Unfortunately, they will now face Ghana in a third and fourth-place playoff match, which will be played at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, on Friday (21:00).
Banyana Banyana and the Black Queens previously met in their opening match of the tournament, with South Africa emerging 2-0 winners thanks to first-half goals from Linda Motlhalo and Jermaine Seoposenwe. A lot has happened since then, with both nations failing to progress to the final. They will now battle for the bronze medal.
“Obviously, the ambition was to get to the final and go back-to-back – a bit of disappointment in not reaching it, but we still have a game to play,” said Ellis, whose future with Banyana Banyana remains unclear.
“We want to end on a high note and obviously go home with our heads held high. We’ve got one training session left today; there’s not a lot more you can do, we’ve done so many things during the tournament. We have played against Ghana, and it’s always difficult to play the same team twice in a tournament, but we’ll give it our best shot.”
Ellis continued, “This is not the match we wanted to play, but it’s in front of us. We want to go home with something, not just for Gaby (Salgado) but for Jermaine (Seoposenwe, who will be playing her last game with the national team) as well. We were hoping to give her a fantastic send-off, but unfortunately, it didn’t work that way.”
This will be South Africa’s fifth match in the tournament, following three wins against Ghana, Mali, and Senegal, along with a draw against Tanzania and a defeat against Nigeria.
After missing out on the previous WAFCON, the Ghanaians find themselves playing for bronze, a prospect that pleases head coach Kim Björkegren.
“The first goal was to make the playoffs, and then we also talked about being among the top four, because if you are there consistently, you will end up winning it,” said Björkegren. “For us, this is a good statement that we are good enough to go to the World Cup in the future. With the tournament coming in Brazil, to be there, you have to be in the top four. We want to be with those that fight for the top four every year. We have been really brave in the way we are playing; we are attacking everyone, we have worked hard.”
The South Africans are expected back home on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, hosts Morocco and Nigeria will contest the WAFCON 2024 final on Saturday, July 26th, at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat.
