Champions South Africa will begin the defence of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations crown on Monday as they take on Ghana in their opening game in group C in Oudja, where the last of the teams at the tournament in Morocco yet to see action will finally take to the field.
Banyana Banyana won the last tournament in Morocco and are among the favourites to succeed again. They will get matters underway at the Stade d'Honneur d'Oujda against the Black Queens, followed by the two other protagonists in the group, Mali and Tanzania.
Banyana are unbeaten in their last three opening games at the Wafcon, including wins over Nigeria in the previous two editions, and will be hoping to keep up that sequence.
The last time they met Ghana in a competitive fixture was the 2016 Wafcon, when the West Africans came away with a 1-0 win in the bronze medal match. They have since played a friendly in 2018 that was also won 1-0 by Ghana. In fact, Banyana’s last victory over Ghana was at the 2008 Wafcon where South Africa finished runners-up to hosts Equatorial Guinea. They can end a 17-year wait on Monday but will be wary of what Ghana will offer.
The Black Queens are still waiting for their first title, having come agonisingly close in the past. They have made the final on three previous occasions, losing them all to Nigeria, but found the going tougher more recently, having only made it out of the group stages once in five attempts since 2008. They did not qualify for the previous finals in 2022.
“It will take belief, hard work, a little bit of luck, and a clear game plan,” said Ghana coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren. “We have to take it one match at a time and stay mentally focused.”
MALI AIMING TO UPSET THE ODDS
Mali are previous semifinalists but last played at the tournament in 2018 when they finished fourth, while Tanzania are competing for only the second time and yet to win a game at the finals.
But despite their inexperience, coach Bakari Shime feels they can upset the odds.
“Mentally, we’re in a good place heading into the tournament. We recently played two matches against DR Congo, winning 2–1 and 3–1. That gave us a strong boost. The players are ready, and the whole of Tanzania is behind us as we approach this Wafcon,” he said.
Mali’s build-up to the tournament has not entirely gone as they might have liked, as they suffered consecutive losses to the significantly lower-ranked Sierra Leone and Liberia. They will be looking for inspiration from Aïssata Traoré, who is fresh off the back of her best-ever season in Europe.
She scored nine goals and chipped in with four assists for French side FC Fleury.