Banyana Banyana brave golden run ends in agony
History and pride were at stake as Banyana Banyana stepped onto the pitch in the penultimate round of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, looking to defend their crown in a highly anticipated semi-final clash against rivals Nigeria on Tuesday.
However, South Africa's hopes of reaching a second consecutive WAFCON final were dashed as they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat, their first in the last two tournaments.
The loss also meant they missed out on automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, with both finalists — Nigeria and hosts Morocco — now having secured their spots. Morocco booked their place with a dramatic 4-2 penalty shootout win over Ghana following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
Banyana will now shift their focus to the third-place playoff, where they will once again face Ghana on Friday. This match will be a rematch from the group stage, where South Africa edged the Ghanaians with a hard-fought 2-0 victory. Since then, Ghana have shown considerable improvement, making this a fixture to watch.
The semi-final defeat also marks the second consecutive time Banyana have missed out on a major tournament at the hands of Nigeria. Last year, they fell short in the two-legged Olympic qualifier against the Super Falcons, losing 1-0 on aggregate and missing out on the 2024 Paris Olympics. But luckily this time with another route to World Cup qualification still available, we reflect on three key talking points from Tuesday's encounter.
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