Banyana Banyana coach Des Ellis was left to rue missed opportunities following her side’s 2-1 defeat to Tanzania in their Group A opener at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 on Monday.
South Africa were stunned by the East Africans and must now likely win their remaining fixtures against Ivory Coast on Friday, and Burkina Faso next Tuesday. The Ivorians beat the latter 4-1 in their opening fixture.
Banyana dominated possession and chances but failed to make it count and were made to pay as Tanzania scored late on to seal one of the biggest wins in their history against the 2022 African champions.
“Goals win games, we knew what Tanzania was going to do, but the two goals we conceded were poor,” Ellis said. “They had two chances and they scored them and won the game. I said before the match that it was going to be a very difficult match, but we also made life difficult for ourselves.
“A good start would have given us the momentum and now the next match becomes a final before the final, it’s a must-win, and also the game after that. We still have it in us, it wasn’t a good day at the office, we can be better than that.
“We cannot drop any more points and with only two teams progressing to the next round, we have to put our best foot forward. We knew that we had it in us to get positive results, and for that we are disappointed.”
The four semifinalists at the 2026 WAFCON seal a place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, while two of the losing quarterfinalists advance to the inter-continental play-offs to try and seal one of the three remaining places available through that route.
Paramount for Banyana is to now get out of their group first and foremost.