WAFCON 2026: South Africa coach Desiree Ellis rues missed chances in Tanzania defeat

Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis has attributed South Africa’s disappointing defeat to Tanzania at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations to their failure to capitalise on numerous scoring opportunities.

The defending champions suffered a shock 2-1 loss to the East African side in their opening Group D fixture at the WAFCON tournament in Morocco, leaving their hopes of making a strong start dented.

Despite creating several chances throughout the match, South Africa struggled to find the back of the net, while Tanzania were more clinical in front of goal by converting the limited opportunities that came their way.

Speaking to the media after the match, Ellis admitted that her side made things difficult for themselves but praised Tanzania for taking advantage of their chances.

“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,” Ellis said.

The veteran coach acknowledged that a positive result in the opening match would have provided Banyana Banyana with confidence and momentum, but she warned that the team must now treat their remaining group fixtures as must-win encounters.

“I felt that all three games were going to be difficult, but 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.”

Ellis insisted that South Africa still have the quality and experience required to recover from the setback, urging her players to respond strongly in their next matches.

“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.”

The Banyana Banyana coach admitted her disappointment with the result, especially after the team entered the tournament confident of achieving positive results.

“We knew that we had it in us to get positive results, and for that we are disappointed.”

South Africa will now turn their attention to their second Group D match against Ivory Coast on Friday, knowing that another dropped result could seriously affect their chances of progressing to the knockout stage.

With qualification places limited, Ellis and her players will be determined to produce a much-improved performance and revive their WAFCON title defence.