South Africa did the job that was in their own hands, beating Burkina Faso to keep their Group B campaign alive — and then watched Côte d’Ivoire do the rest, seeing off Tanzania to send Banyana Banyana through to the WAFCON 2026 quarter-finals as group runners-up.
Banyana Banyana Get the Job Done
It came down to the final round of Group B exactly as it had to. Needing nothing less than victory over Burkina Faso in Casablanca to stand any chance of survival, Banyana Banyana delivered — a tight, tense 1-0 win at the Moulay Rachid Stadium that kept South Africa’s WAFCON 2026 alive and, in the end, carried them all the way through to the last eight.
It was not a performance to banish the doubts that had built up over two shaky results in the group stage, but it did not need to be. Desiree Ellis’s side simply needed the points, and a single goal was enough to get them. Coming into the match on the back of a come-from-behind draw with Côte d’Ivoire and an opening defeat to Tanzania, Banyana Banyana had spent the tournament making the group stage harder than it needed to be. On the night that mattered most, they made it look straightforward.
The Favour, Repeated: Côte d’Ivoire 2-1 Tanzania
South Africa’s win alone would not have been enough. As in the previous round, Banyana Banyana again needed the other Group B fixture to fall their way — and this time it was Côte d’Ivoire, already assured of top spot, who provided the assistance. The Lady Elephants saw off Tanzania 2-1 in the simultaneous kick-off, a result that handed South Africa exactly the outcome they needed.
It was the precise permutation South Africa had been hoping for: with Tanzania beaten, both the Twiga Stars and Burkina Faso were left stuck on three points, and South Africa’s win lifted Banyana Banyana above both of them and into second place in the group, behind an already-qualified Côte d’Ivoire.
Final Group B Standings
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Côte d’Ivoire | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 7 |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Tanzania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Burkina Faso | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -3 | 3 |
Côte d’Ivoire finish top of the group on seven points, unbeaten through all three matches. South Africa’s win over Burkina Faso lifts them to four points and second place, edging out Tanzania and Burkina Faso, who finish level on three points apiece and are separated only by goal difference. Burkina Faso’s historic first-ever WAFCON victory, over Tanzania in round two, was ultimately not enough to carry them through.
What It Means: A Quarter-Final With Morocco
Finishing as Group B runners-up sends Banyana Banyana into the quarter-finals against tournament hosts Morocco, with the match set for the Stade Moulay El Hassan in Rabat on 8 August. It is a daunting draw — the hosts have home advantage and a stadium full of support behind them — but it is also the very opportunity Banyana Banyana were fighting to keep alive when they went into Tuesday’s match knowing that anything less than victory would end their tournament there and then.
A run to the semi-finals would also carry weight beyond the trophy itself: WAFCON’s four semi-finalists qualify automatically for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, the target South Africa had in mind before a bumpy group campaign put it in doubt.
The Bottom Line
It was not the group stage South Africa’s players or their coach would have scripted — an opening defeat, a fortunate escape against Ivory Coast, and a passage to the knockout rounds that depended on results elsewhere falling their way not once but twice. But for a side that came to Morocco as one of the tournament favourites and looked, for long stretches, like anything but, simply being through is its own reward. Banyana Banyana’s WAFCON survival instincts have been tested to the limit in this group. They will need them again in Rabat.
Sources: Soccer Laduma, Kick Off, News24, SuperSport, CAF Online, EWN, Africa Top Sports, beIN Sports, Daily Maverick, allAfrica, Premium Times, ESPN, Morocco World News.
Banyana Banyana Live to Fight Another Day – But Its Win-or-Go Home Against Burkina Faso
PiE SPORTS TEAM
South Africa came back from two goals down to draw with Côte d’Ivoire, and got the help they needed elsewhere — but Banyana Banyana’s WAFCON 2026 survival now rests entirely on beating Burkina Faso in the final round.
A Second Life for Banyana Banyana
Nine points would once have looked like an easy task for South Africa from their WAFCON 2026 group, winning all of the three games. Instead, after an opening loss to Tanzania, Banyana Banyana go into the final round of Group B needing just one thing: victory over Burkina Faso. Anything less, and the 2022 champions are out — not only of this tournament, but of the automatic route to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup reserved for WAFCON’s four semi-finalists.
A come-from-behind draw with Côte d’Ivoire, followed by a favour from an unlikely source in Burkina Faso, has kept that door open. It is narrower than Desiree Ellis’ side would like, but it is still open.
Match Two: South Africa 2-2 Côte d’Ivoire
Banyana Banyana looked set for a second straight defeat in Casablanca after Ivory Coast’s Josée Sery struck twice inside the first 36 minutes to put the Group B leaders 2-0 up. South Africa, needing a response to stay in touch with the qualification places, huffed and puffed for large spells without reward.
The turnaround came late. Thembi Kgatlana pulled a goal back in the 71st minute, and deep into stoppage time Hildah Magaia forced home an equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw and a precious point.
Ellis made a goalkeeping change for the game, bringing in Kaylin Swart in place of Andile Dlamini, and afterwards pointed to defensive lapses rather than a lack of effort as the reason South Africa had again made the task harder than it needed to be.
The Favour: Burkina Faso 2-1 Tanzania
South Africa’s draw alone would not have been enough. It needed help from the other Group B fixture, where Burkina Faso — already eliminated in all but mathematics after their opening 4-1 loss to Côte d’Ivoire — faced a Tanzania side full of confidence after stunning Banyana Banyana on matchday one.
Burkina Faso led at half-time through Adele Naomie Kabre and held on for a 2-1 win, ending their own long wait for a first WAFCON victory and, in the same stroke, keeping South Africa’s hopes alive by denying Tanzania the win that would have all but eliminated Banyana Banyana.
Updated Group B Standings
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Côte d’Ivoire | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 |
| 2 | Tanzania | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Burkina Faso | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | South Africa | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 1 |
Côte d’Ivoire top the group and are already close to sealing qualification. Tanzania and Burkina Faso are level on three points, separated by goal difference, and South Africa sit bottom on one point — but with a game in hand on nobody, since all four sides have one match left to play.
What Happens Now: The Final-Round Permutations
South Africa close out the group against Burkina Faso on Tuesday, 4 August, while Côte d’Ivoire play Tanzania in the other final-round fixture. The two games kick off in the same window, so Banyana Banyana will be doing the maths in real time.
If South Africa win
A victory takes Banyana Banyana to four points and guarantees, at minimum, a chance of going through — the only outcome that keeps qualification in South Africa’s own hands rather than dependent purely on other results. Where that lands them in the final standings then hinges on Côte d’Ivoire vs Tanzania:
• If Tanzania lose to Côte d’Ivoire, both Tanzania and Burkina Faso would be stuck on three points, and South Africa’s four points would be enough to leapfrog both and take second place behind Côte d’Ivoire.
• If Tanzania draw with or beat Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania would move to four or more points, level with or above South Africa, and the second qualifying spot would likely be decided on goal difference between the two.
If South Africa draw or lose
A draw leaves Banyana Banyana on two points; a defeat leaves them on one. In either case South Africa would finish behind at least two of Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania and Burkina Faso, all of whom can still reach four or more points from the final round. That would send South Africa out of the group stage — and with it, out of the automatic path to the 2027 World Cup, leaving only the longer route through the inter-continental play-offs open to teams that reach the WAFCON quarter-finals, a route Banyana Banyana would not have qualified for.
The Bottom Line
South Africa’s fate is now entirely in their own hands in one sense — win, and they are still alive — but entirely out of their hands in another, since the identity of their group-stage conqueror-turned-rival will be decided by what Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania do at the same time. For a side that arrived in Morocco as one of the tournament favourites, Tuesday’s meeting with Burkina Faso has become as close to a cup final as the group stage allows.
Sources: Soccer Laduma, Kick Off, News24, SuperSport, CAF Online, EWN, Africa Top Sports, beIN Sports, Daily Maverick, allAfrica, Premium Times.
