Banyana Banyana backed to reach Wafcon quarter-finals despite struggles

Banyana Banyana legends Portia Modise and Noko Matlou believe South Africa can still reach the quarter-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, despite blaming inadequate preparation and a lack of support for the team’s difficult campaign in Morocco.

The 2022 champions must beat Burkina Faso in their final Group B match in Casablanca tonight at 22:00 South Africa time. They also need Ivory Coast to defeat Tanzania if they are to progress to the knockout stage.

South Africa have collected just one point from their opening two matches and are bottom of the group. They have conceded four goals and scored only twice, a record that has left them a shadow of the side that won the tournament four years ago.

However, both former internationals remain confident that Banyana Banyana will produce the result required to keep their title hopes alive.

“I think we will beat Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast will win against Tanzania, so we should be okay,” Matlou told Sowetan.

Modise, who scored more than 100 goals for Banyana Banyana, also expects South Africa to qualify.

“I have my fingers crossed that we qualify. We shouldn’t struggle to beat Burkina Faso, and Tanzania won’t beat Ivory Coast.”

Despite their optimism, the pair have criticised the circumstances surrounding the team and rejected the idea that the players’ performances alone explain their problems at the tournament.

“I am not surprised to see Banyana struggling,” Modise told Sowetan. “We’ve been talking about this for many years; Banyana lacks support of the country. Banyana don’t get exposure, and that discourages the players.

“For me, Banyana’s struggles at this Wafcon have nothing to do with performances − it’s about how they have been treated,” said Modise.

She said the team had not received the same level of national backing as Bafana received before the men’s World Cup.

“They are not motivated because they lack support from Safa and the whole country. You saw what happened with Bafana when they were going to the World Cup; the country was buzzing, but that didn’t happen with Banyana.”

Matlou, who played a key role when Banyana Banyana won their only Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title in Morocco four years ago, believes a lack of match preparation has contributed to their struggles.

“What makes us struggle is that we didn’t play enough friendlies leading up to the tournament. We played our last friendly against Japan in June … I think we should have played two more just to get that momentum before the tournament,” Matlou said yesterday.

South Africa’s fate will therefore depend on both their own performance against Burkina Faso and the outcome of the match between Ivory Coast and Tanzania. With only one point from two games, Banyana Banyana must overcome the odds to secure a place in the last eight.