South Africa face a decisive final Group B match against Burkina Faso at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday, with defeat ending their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.
Kick-off is scheduled for 22:00 South Africa time, with both teams needing a positive result in what promises to be a tense conclusion to the group stage.
Banyana Banyana sit bottom of Group B with one point from their opening two matches. Burkina Faso are third on three points, meaning South Africa must defeat the West Africans to have any chance of progressing.
They will also need leaders Ivory Coast to beat second-placed Tanzania in the other Group B fixture, which kicks off at the same time. Ivory Coast have four points, while Tanzania have three.
South Africa head coach Desiree Ellis said her team understood the significance of the contest and would need to impose themselves from the start.
“Burkina Faso are not here by fluke, but we have to focus on ourselves. We have to control play from the first whistle – we can only control what we can control.
“We have prepared well and we will be ready to give the best we can, we know what is at stake. It is probably the final for us, if we don’t get the result we require, it’s the end of the road.
“We have been in similar positions before, and I believe we have players with enough experience to get us over the line.
“Yes, there will be pressure, but we have never doubted ourselves and we can draw inspirations from the fact that we have done it before,” said Ellis.
The coach’s side have previously faced difficult situations in major tournaments, and Ellis believes that experience can help South Africa deal with the pressure of a must-win match.
Goalkeeper Kaylin Swart acknowledged that the team had not expected to be in such a challenging position after two games, but insisted the squad remained determined to respond.
“I don’t think we realised how much it was going to take for us to be where we are, mentally we didn’t expect it. Today is another battle and we are ready, we can’t talk about the past, we have to focus on this match.
“It is going to take everything from us to get a result. Our spirit has never faltered despite the results. I am excited because it is going to be a battle, it is what we would call the group of death.
“It will be a tough match, and both teams are under pressure, but then again sometimes pressure is what we need to do well because it is part of the game,” said Swart.
Only the top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals. The four teams that win their quarter-finals will automatically qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year.
The sides also arrive at the match with a significant difference in their FIFA rankings. South Africa are 57th in the world and second among African nations, while Burkina Faso are ranked 118th globally and 16th on the continent.
Despite that disparity, Ellis has warned that Burkina Faso’s position in the rankings will not make the contest easier. South Africa must now produce a victory and hope the result in the other fixture goes their way if they are to remain in the competition.
