he South African women’s football team (Banyana Banyana) have been crowned Africa Cup of Nations queens after a 2-1 victory over Morocco in the final in Rabat on Sunday.
Both of Bafana’s goals came from Hildah Magala (63′, 71′) before Rosella Ayane pulled one back for the Moroccans in the 80th minute.
For Banyana, it was their first successful attempt after claiming five silver medals in Women’s Afcon finals – 1995, 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018 and for Morocco they made history by becoming the first Arab nation to make the semis and final and qualify for the World Cup by virtue of the fact that the four semifinalists all get automatic qualification to the World Cup.
In the end, there could only be one victor however and it was the more experienced Banyana outfit, who had defeated tournament favourites Nigeria, Burundi and Botswana to finish top of Group C. In the knockout stages, Banyana saw off Tunisia and Zambia.
Tonight we celebrate 😭🇿🇦💚💛
— Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) July 23, 2022
CHAMPIONS !!!#TotalEnergiesWAFCON2022 pic.twitter.com/7WV0i9p6gF
And Banyana coach Desiree Ellis dedicated the award to everyone connected with women’s football in South Africa and also to the South African people.
“This was our goal. We as a team decided this is where we want to be, and we want to win it for South Africa. I am so proud of my team. We love you. We’re so proud to be South African,” said Ellis.
“We are so proud that we can go out there and make the country proud and put smiles on the faces of the people of South Africa. That was our goal coming into this tournament, and we did it.
“We always play with our hearts on our sleeves. We hope that they are ecstatic and that the streets are going crazy right now, and we can’t wait to come home with the cup.
“It means so much.
Congratulations to @Banyana_Banyana on making history and winning their first ever title at the Women’s Africa Cup of National last night. They promised me that they would bring the trophy home. We cannot wait to welcome you back and thank you for flying the flag!🇿🇦 #WAFCON2022 pic.twitter.com/acJOIDIQEP
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 24, 2022
“Not just to us as a group but to the whole of South Africa, to the coaches that have come before, to the players that have come before.
“This is for everyone connected to women’s football. A big thank you to SAFA, a big thank you to Sasol, and to the fans as well.
“But most importantly, to the players, they were absolutely magnificent today, to the staff, they have done the tireless work behind the scenes.”
Reflecting tactically on the match, Ellis said: “We said we must continue playing, we could have scored before half-time, but we said continue rotating the ball, hit them down the channels because they push their full-backs up.
Full-time:
— Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) July 23, 2022
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HISTORY as Banyana Banyana clinch their first ever WAFCON trophy!!!
It’s coming home Mzansi!!!!😭😭😭🙏🏾🇿🇦💚💛#TotalEnergiesWAFCON2022 #LiveTheImpossible pic.twitter.com/UV37lUwqMA
“We played one ball diagonally, and we got a goal, and we played another ball, and we got a goal.
“We gave a goal away poorly, but I thought defensively, and all round, our plan worked. We said to the players; we’ve got to help each other on the pitch because we might be able to get a word across (because of the noise).
“I take my hat off to the whole team; they were absolutely magnificent. They stuck to the game plan; they did not allow them (Morocco) to play.”
