Banyana Banyana eye consolatory bronze medal after double Wafcon heartbreak

Daily Maverick

5 days ago

Banyana Banyana's Women's Africa Cup of Nations title defence ended in double heartbreak after their elimination by Nigeria in the semifinals was overshadowed by the injury suffered by Gabriela Salgado.
Banyan Banyana will be the first to be honest with themselves about their performances up to and including their semifinal defeat by Nigeria at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon). The South Africans went down 2-1 to their old foes on Tuesday, 22 July 2025, in Casablanca.
The result came after another spirited display from Desiree Ellis's charges. Spirit, efficiency and camaraderie have been the key themes in this Wafcon run — which ended in heartache and denied Banyana Banyana's bid to defend their title.
One key element that has been largely missing in the team's campaign is the type of silky and skilful soccer that they deployed on the way to clinching their maiden Wafcon title in 2022. More often than not, Banyana Banyana's displays in Morocco this year were tenacious and gutsy.
The missing ingredient
That Banyana style mainly consisted of the team quickly moving the ball around to dazzle their opponents, then pouncing with the precision of a ravenous cheetah. Only in one match did they show glimpses of this — in their final group game against Mali. They crushed the Malians 4-0.
Speaking prior to Banyana Banyana's quarterfinal clash against Senegal (which South Africa won 4-1 on penalties), utility player Gabriela Salgado acknowledged that Banyana Banyana had had to dig deep in the majority of their matches.
Nonetheless, the winger/fullback/forward was elated to be part of the team fighting for South Africa's honour in Morocco. A regular in the Banyana Banyana team for years, Salgado missed out on the team's successful Wafcon campaign three years ago. The left-footer was forced to pull out of the squad on the eve of the tournament after suffering a collarbone injury.
As such, the 27-year-old was extremely pleased about being part of the title defence.
'I'm grateful to be here, it's an honour. As you all know the last Wafcon I missed out due to injury. So, I'm really enjoying being here and taking every moment in. It hasn't been an easy tournament; every team has come to try to beat us. But we've stood together,' Salgado said.
Salgado's heartbreak
But the Wafcon has once again shattered Salgado's heart. Not only are Banyana Banyana out of the reckoning after their semifinal defeat in Morocco, but Salgado was a casualty of the battle between South Africa and Nigeria.
The versatile Johannesburg-born player suffered a serious leg injury with the scores level at 1-1 and Banyana Banyana in control of the contest. There were just seven minutes remaining when Salgado went down in agony in the South African box, as the two teams jostled for possession of the ball.
Salgado's teammates were visibly devastated, with midfielder Noxolo Cesane appearing to be the most shaken as she burst into tears at seeing her comrade in anguish.
'From the reaction of the players, it was a bad injury. We had to calm them down to make sure that they stayed focused. Which was very difficult after that moment,' Ellis said after the match.
Momentum killer
Ellis said the injury shook up her team, suggesting they did not quite recover from the incident and that this affected their ability to remain focused.
Michelle Alozie's searching cross from the right wing on 94 minutes somehow evaded everyone in the Banyana box, including charging South Africa goalkeeper Andile Dlamini, as it trickled into the goal.
Nonetheless, Ellis said she was proud of the team's effort against their continental rivals, especially after their marathon quarterfinal against Senegal.
'After that injury it took us a while to get going again, that's probably the reason we conceded when we conceded. But big up to Nigeria, they kept going, and good luck to them [in the final],' Ellis stated.
'We did not look like a team that had gone 120 minutes [in the previous match]. We gave it as good as they gave it… Then we conceded a freakish goal, because everybody missed it. Even our goalkeeper… If you look at our overall performance, we did not deserve to lose. But one team has to lose,' the Banyana coach added.
The fight continues
Following this defeat, it's back to the drawing board for South Africa's senior women's soccer side. Coupled with their two successive failures to qualify for the Olympic Games, it will raise some questions, and particularly on the future of long-time Banyana Banyana coach Ellis, who has been at the helm since 2016.
But first there is a consolatory bronze medal to fight for. South Africa will remain in Casablanca to conclude the tournament with a third-place play-off against Ghana on Friday, 25 July. The Black Queens lost 4-2 on penalties to host nation Morocco in the other semifinal.
The South African Football Association (Safa) said the true extent of Salgado's injury was still being assessed after she was rushed to hospital. Safa president Danny Jordaan wished Salgado well, while also praising Banyana's valiant campaign.
'First of all, we would like to wish a speedy recovery to Gabriela Salgado. We are all waiting to hear what the doctors have to say,' Jordaan stated.
'Banyana Banyana fought very well, and it was a brave performance from the defending Wafcon champions. You have established yourselves as one of the best teams on the continent. You fought bravely and we are proud of your performance,' said the Safa president.
Of course, over and above fighting bravely on the field, Banyana Banyana once again found themselves having to fight Safa over remuneration. The players downed tools just days after arriving in Morocco last month, over money Safa owed them from previous matches.
It was the same scenario before the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup. It's these administrative issues that need to be phased out if Banyana Banyana are to one day topple Nigeria's Super Falcons as the biggest team in Africa. DM