South Africa seek redemption in must-win encounter against Côte d’Ivoire

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 result sent shockwaves across the continent and served as a wakeup call for the 2022 winners who are eyeing a third straight slot at the FIFA Women’s World Cup that will be held in Brazil next year.

South Africa are one of only two teams to feature in every single edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Banyana Banyana are competing in their 14th consecutive edition and bring with them not only experience but flair, pedigree and an understanding of the stakes at hand.

“We always take one game at a time. This is another game where we can do better, where everyone can step up. Where we will create results. That is what tournament football is about. I don’t think it is about pressure. We know the opponents will have a game plan. It is another difficult game. Not getting a result in the first game was not what we had hoped for but we know what we are capable of. We created a lot of opportunities. Against Côte d’Ivoire, this is a game where we must win. The energy has been good in camp and we are ready,” Dr Desiree Ellis, South Africa’s head coach, explained in the pre-match press conference.

Banyana Banyana have not won their last three matches against West African opponents, recording two draws and one defeat in open play. They defeated Senegal on penalties in the quarter-finals at the last edition in 2025, lost to Nigeria in the semi-finals and were beaten by Ghana on penalties in the third-place play-off.

Regardless of the above, CAF African Player of the Year 2018 Thembi Kgatlana said that “As a professional sports person, these are the games we want to play. I love football. For me, I am grateful to be here with my teammates to represent our country and also potentially have a chance to go to the World Cup”.

“This is football and each game is different. How you start does not determine where you will stand at the end of the tournament. There are so many things we want to do better. We have been to several WAFCON editions and I think we know that tomorrow is another game where we can do better. We are taking it one game at a time. The girls know what is at stake and needs to be done (against Côte d’Ivoire). That is the standard that we have set for ourselves.”

Back to the WAFCON for the first time since 2014 and three points in the bag for the Lady Elephants is not distracting them from the work that still lies ahead. Overwhelming support from their fans inside the Larbi Zaouli Stadium on Monday, those back home and across the world has left the players motivated and ready to continue their campaign with even more enthusiasm and determination.

“It was good to start the competition with three points. We are focusing on the match against South Africa. It will be a special match. We are not used to playing this kind of team. They are a very good team. It is up to us to give it our all - to do what is necessary to stop them,” explained Reynald Pedros, the Ivorian head coach.

“And to stop them, we need to be solid defensively, work hard, disrupt their game, and adapt at times, doing what we know how to do. Ideally we would like to get six points. We want to keep this momentum going, win this second match, and qualify for the quarter-finals.”

Asec Mimosas midfielder Erika Gnounoue added to the team’s objective; “We're going to give it our all to make them proud. It would be an honour to win the second match and make the Ivorian people proud. Winning the first one gaves us confidence but we're putting that behind us and focusing on the next match, fighting hard, giving it our all and going for that victory.”

This is the third appearance of the Lady Elephants who finished third back in 2014.

Côte d’Ivoire have scored in all nine of their WAFCON matches while conceding in seven of the nine WAFCON encounters, keeping two clean sheets. Meanwhile, South Africa are unbeaten in their second group tie at the last three editions, winning in 2018 and 2022 before drawing at the last tournament in 2025.