Banyana Banyana have a tricky test when they take on Senegal in the quarter-final of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON 2024) on Saturday, July 19.
South Africa will play their fourth match at the Stade Municipal in d’Oujda and are looking for a semi-final ticket where a mouth-watering match against nine-time champions Nigeria await.
Desiree Ellis’ side are unbeaten so far and have conceded just one goal in their three matches at the 2024 edition and will want to add the Senegalese to their list of casualties.
Form guide
South Africa started their campaign with a 2-0 win over Ghana before a surprise 1-1 draw against Tanzania but topped their group with a 4-0 thrashing of Mali.
That has extended their unbeaten run to 10 games, having won seven on the bounce before the start of WAFCON 2024.
Meanwhile, Senegal advanced to the quarter-final as one of the two best losers after winning one and losing two of their three group matches.
They began their WAFCON campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of DR Congo before falling 3-2 to Zambia and then 1-0 to Morocco.
Head-to-Head
This will be the fourth meeting between Senegal and South Africa with Banyana Banyana having the upper hand in their other three matches, which gives them confidence of a win on Saturday.
The two teams met twice in June 2024, the first match ending 1-1, before South Africa won 2-0, this coming 12 years since their first-ever matchup, when Banyana won 1-0 at WAFCON 2012.
Players to watch
South Africa have been unscathed so far with all their big hitters available, midfield general Refiloe Jane, attackers Linda Motlhalo, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Hildah Magaia as well as goalkeeper Andile Dlamini offering Ellis plenty of experience.
Meanwhile, Nguenar Ndiaye, who has four goals so far, is one big threat that South Africa have to keep an eye on or they will be surprised like the case against Tanzania.
What have they said?
Ellis has warned her charges against underestimating Senegal who came out of a tough group with their heads held high.
“They came out of a very difficult group, and it shows the quality that they have. The games that they played – except for the DR Congo match – were very tight, with just one goal in it,” said Ellis as quoted by SAFA media.
“They do have the quality, we played them last year in June, but they’ve improved so much and if you look at where they are right now, we really have to be on top of our game.
“It’s going to be a game of those small margins – the final and knockout games are never easy, so we really have to make sure that we are in charge and everything that we do, we do as best as we can. But keeping a clean sheet will also be of utmost importance.”
Time and where to watch?
The match will kick off at 21:00 (SA time) on Saturday July 19 and will be live on both SuperSport TV and SABC.
Banyana Banyana predicted XI
Dlamini; Dhlamini, Makhubela, Mbane, Magama; Jane, Motau, Motlhalo; Ramalepe, Magaia, Seoposenwe.
