WAFCON 2022: Banyana need a point to set up Tunisia quarterfinal
South Africa need just a point in their final Group C match versus Botswana at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday to seal top spot in the pool and set up a quarterfinal clash with Tunisia.
Banyana Banyana have two wins from two in pool play so far, but come up against tricky Mares side who will be no pushovers and have had plenty of contact with Des Ellis’ team in the recent past through the CSOAFA Women’s Championship.
That being said, they have never beaten Banyana in 15 previous attempts (D3 L12), but did knock them out of the Tokyo Olympic Games qualifying in 2019 on penalties after the tie ended 0-0 on aggregate.
Botswana have already sealed their place in the quarterfinals and unless there is an extraordinary set of results, will finish third in Group C.
For them to finish second they need to either better the result of Nigeria against minnows Burundi, or beat Banyana to see the top three all end up on six points, creating a mini-league between them to determine final positions.
But as things stand, and will likely end up, it is South Africa versus Tunisia, Nigeria meet Cameroon and Botswana against hosts Morocco in the Last 8.
That is just about the best outcome Banyana might have hoped for given the strength of teams they could have faced in the next stage, and while Tunisia will be tough, they are very beatable.
The four semifinalists at this year’s African championship qualify automatically for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, with two of the losing quarterfinalists having to go through a difficult route via the inter-continental play-offs.
Banyana coach Des Ellis will have mixed emotions at the competition so far, watching her side beat defending champions Nigeria in their opener, but then put in a poor display in the next game that yielded a 3-1 successes over Burundi, but suggests her side will have to up their game considerably against tougher opponents.
“We will also have a look at the opposition and see how we can capitalise on their weaknesses,” Ellis said of Botswana. “It’s a very familiar team that we’ve played against so often, and we’ll make sure that we execute our plan.
“We’ve got to make sure that we start well. We always want to start on the front foot and make sure that we put opponents under pressure. We will have a look at what we can do better [than against Burundi].”
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For Nigeria it is a case of building momentum after their stuttering start and so will not want to take the foot off the pedal against a Burundi side that were exceptionally open against Banyana and might have conceded double figures on another day.
“We want to build on the confidence that we got from winning our second game,” Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum said. “When you go into the third group game, as the coaching staff, we start looking at who we want to play, who should rest.
“Some of our players have played 90 minutes twice already and it is a long tournament. If you are fortunate enough to make it through six games, we have to be mindful so these are some of the challenges that we have. So we have to try and find that balance.”