South Africa staged a spirited second-half comeback to rescue a 2-2 draw against Côte d'Ivoire in Friday’s TotalEnergies CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 Group B clash, keeping their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals alive. Trailing by two goals at the break, Banyana Banyana showed remarkable resilience as Thembi Kgatlana and Hildah Magaia struck in the closing stages to earn a valuable point after a difficult first half. Côte d'Ivoire made the brighter start

WAFCON 2022 champions South Africa find themselves between a rock and a hard place ahead of their Group B encounter against in-form Côte d’Ivoire at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 in Morocco. Banyana Banyana, who fell to Tanzania in a 2-1 loss in their tournament opening fixture, are desperate to return to winning ways when they face the West Africans who kickstarted their campaign with a 4-1 victory over 10-woman Burkina Faso. The disappointing resu

Varsity Football Women has become far more than a university football competition. Year after year, it continues to establish itself as one of South Africa's premier breeding grounds for future professional and national team talent with numerous players being called up to Banyana Banyana. As the 2026 tournament gets underway on 1 August, another exciting group of student-athletes will have the opportunity to showcase their abilities on one of the country's biggest university

Ngwana wa ko gae. A child from my home. A befitting phrase that Linda Motlhalo has become accustomed to especially while wearing the iconic yellow and green national colours of South Africa on national team duty. “I still remember when Linda first came into the national team. Small bodied, tiny-sized but a player full of skill and someone for the future. I remember watching her in the U17s and U20s and I could tell that this one is for the future,” Banyana Banyana captain Ref

Tanzania opened their TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 Group B campaign with a famous 2-1 victory over South Africa in a tightly contested Monday evening encounter played at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca. This was the second consecutive edition that the two sides meet in the same group and the third time that they faced each other at a WAFCON finals. With South Africa winning the first encounter and the second ending in a stalemate, the E

Nkosi sikelel’iAfrika. Mungu Ibariki Afrika. God bless Africa. Both the South African and Tanzanian national anthems begin with these strong and intentional words. Words that carry a deep meaning for their citizens who display resolute emotions when singing the lyrics. It is not just the opening words but the rhythm too. Listening to both national anthems feels like a repetition. It is not just this semblance that brings the two nations. They share a lot historically includin

Banyana Banyana are upbeat as they put final touches to their TotalEnergies CAF Women Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 preparations. Desiree Ellis’ team will face Tanzania in their opening match on 27 July. The 2022 African champions are gunning for their second continental title. The team has moved away from the disappointing campaign of 2024, where they finished fourth and still came back with the CAF Fair Play award. A 2-1 loss to their bitter rivals Nigeria means South

The FIFA World Cup 2026 welcomed 10 African qualifiers, twice the number that competed in Qatar four years earlier. With that expanded presence came a greater platform for the continent’s football to shine and they duly delivered. Before this edition, African teams had recorded 37 victories across nearly a century of World Cup history. In 2026 alone, they added 11 more. Nine of the continent’s ten representatives made it out of the group stage, though not every side enjoyed t

Find out the position of each of the competing nations, ranked from 1-48, following the completion of the global extravaganza in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Spain have been crowned FIFA World Cup 2026 winners following their 1-0 victory over Argentina after extra-time in the final at New York New Jersey Stadium. England completed their best tournament since winning on home turf in 1966 as Bukayo Saka's hat-trick in a breathless end-to-end encounter with France at Mi

Spain have become world champions for the second time in their history, Luis de la Fuente’s men beating Argentina 1-0 in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 final in New York New Jersey. Although Spain dominated the game from start to finish, they had to wait until the 106th minute to finally find a way past Emiliano Martinez. The Argentina goalkeeper had made 12 saves up to that point but he had no answer when Nico Williams nodded down a Pedro Porro cross at the far post and Ferran

England overcame France in the ultimate game of two halves in the bronze final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 asBukayo Saka hit a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham finally put an end to a comeback Kylian Mbappe had heroically inspired at Miami Stadium. England annihilated France in the first half. Declan Rice stylishly struck home the opener from outside the box and, after Saka had a goal ruled out for offside, Ezri Kosna made it two. Saka then bagged a quick-fire brace to send Thoma

Had Michael Olise chosen a different path he could have been lining up for England against France in Miami in Saturday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 bronze final. After all, one of Les Bleus’ main attacking talents was born in London and had the chance of playing for England along with the countries of his parents, Nigerian father Vincent and French-Algerian mother Mina. “I actually come from four countries” is what winger Olise, now 24, told the Bayern Munich website in December 202

When Gareth Southgate was England manager, he reminisced more than once about the day he first watched a FIFA World Cup finals match. The date was 16 June 1982. Southgate was 11 years old and he raced home from school to turn on the television set just in time for the kick-off, scheduled at 4.15pm British Summer Time. Which is a good thing given how early the first goal arrived. The match in question was England v France. It was the opening group game for Ron Greenwood's team

The biggest-ever FIFA World Cup concludes on Sunday with a blockbuster final between Spain and Argentina. Both nations have shown exceptional quality and an inexhaustible competitive spirit to go all the way to the title decider. Ahead of what promises to be a captivating contest at New York New Jersey Stadium, FIFA looks at the individual duels which could prove decisive. Aymeric Laporte v Lionel Messi Messi may have turned 39 just over a fortnight ago but his mesmerising ma

1930 Argentina and Uruguay, it had been agreed pre-tournament, would play matches with their own balls. Then they both reached the final and all hell broke loose. “The extraordinary hatred between the two countries was revealed when the time came to choose a ball,” recalled Belgian referee John Langenus, who officiated in a shirt, tie, blazer and knickerbockers. “Both teams demanded to play with their own ball.” FIFA president Jules Rimet was forced to intervene, stipulating

His name may not feature on the scoresheet but the assists for both Argentina’s goals came from the same man. Lionel Messi has made his mark in every match at the FIFA World Cup 2026. And the 2-1 semi-final victory over England was no different. Messi was one of the driving forces behind Argentina’s 40-minute onslaught, as they turned the game around with determination, grit and quality football. The Argentina captain has also made his mark off the pitch, speaking with clarit

Holders Argentina fought back from the brink to beat England and advance to Sunday's FIFA World Cup 2026 final against Spain. Enzo Fernandez and Lisandro Martinez struck the late goals in a dramatic turnaround in Atlanta just when England were closing in on their first final in 60 years, following Anthony Gordon's goal early in the second half. Instead Lionel Scaloni's men can now look forward to their seventh World Cup final, and stand a step away from retaining their world

Norway were searching for an equaliser, trailing England 2-1 deep into added time of extra-time in their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final at Miami Stadium, with another hopeful aerial ball from goalkeeper Orjan Nyland played towards the five-man Three Lions defence. Substitute Dan Burn, sent on in the 111th minute for two-goal hero Jude Bellingham, spotted the danger, as did the England fans who were on their feet awaiting the final whistle. The volume on a suffocating Flori

Spain frustrated France at one end and punished them at the other to deservedly win their FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final at Dallas Stadium. La Roja limited Les Bleus’ chances though some flawless defending and scored thorough Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro. Spain will now face the England-Argentina victors at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday. They emerged triumphant in their only previous appearance in the fixture, Andres Iniesta sinking the Netherlands at Soccer City i

Jude Bellingham has been so influential in England’s run to the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals that he is beginning to resemble Zinedine Zidane – according to Three Lions legend John Terry. Bellingham scored both goals in England’s quarter-final triumph over Norway, building on his double in the epic 3-2 victory over co-hosts Mexico City in the Round of 16. And former England captain Terry has likened Bellingham's heroic performances to Zidane's impact during France’s path t