Resurgent Banyana Secure WAFCON Quarter-Fin…

Photo by Zamani Makautsi/Gallo Images

Banyana Banyana advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Burkina Faso 1-0 on Tuesday night.

Fixture: Burkina Faso v South Africa
Score: 0-1
Goalscorers: Kgatlana (21′)

Desiree Ellis’ charges gave their knockout chances a boost in the last game after coming from behind to hold Ivory Coast, but they knew that only three points would hive them a chance of progressing to the next round.

Only the top two teams qualify for the quarter-final stage, however the other clash in Group B had a big bearing on the overall outcome as Banyana needed Ivory Coast to do them a favour against Tanzania.

The South Africans got the start they wanted when Fikile Magama turned provider and picked out Thembi Kgatlana with a lovely pass, with the latter showing great composure to slot home her second goal of the campaign on 21 minutes.

That proved to be the only clear-cut opening of the entire first half, as Étalons Dames failed to register a single effort at Kaylin Swart’s goal throughout the opening 45 minutes although the Banyana defence were solid for most of the evening.

Banyana nearly suffered a blow a minutes after the break when Burkina Faso were awarded a penalty when Adele Kabre went down in the box, however after checking the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor, the referee changed her initial decision to award the penalty.

Burkina Faso threw bodies forward in search of an equaliser, which would have been enough to seal their spot in the quarter-finals but the South Africans were dealing with every ball coming into the 18-yard area.

Ellis’ charges were able to see out the closing stages of the second half to secure their first win in the group stages, while sealing second spot in Group B with the help of Ivory Coast beating Tanzania 2-0 in the other contest in the group.

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