Motlhalo's rise to African Penalty Queen

CAF

5 days ago

Linda Motlhalo. Elite penalty converter. Spot kick speciliast. Sharpshooter. And on and on and on. One could use all the superlatives to describe South Africa's number 10 over the years when it comes to converting from the spot. The 27-year-old midfielder is the first choice go-to pinpoint scorer for the Banyana Banyana, and she has been perfect over the years since finding the back of the net for the first time at the WAFCON in 2016.
An 84th minute goal against Egypt in open play to seal a 5-0 victory over the North Africans to ensure Banyana Banyana booked a place in the semifinals in Limbe, Cameroon was the beginning of her goalscoring count at the WAFCON as an 18-year-old.
Teenage sensation to Dependable Executor
Calm in chaos is the best way to describe Motlhalo when she steps up to take a penalty for South Africa. Carrying the weight of a nation, the Gauteng born midfield maestro understands the job at hand and has mastered how to rise above the noise to create magic.
Motlhalo converted her first penalty at the WAFCON in the 2018 edition in Ghana at the age of 20 when she was the first to find the back of the net in an impressive 7-1 win over two-time African champions Equatorial Guinea at the group stage level to open the floodgates for her teammates. The win sent Banyana Banyana to the semifinals as Group B leaders.
But tables turned. At the same edition, Motlhalo took to the coveted spot and missed a deciding penalty that could have won South Africa their first TotalEnergies WAFCON title. A final against their biggest archrivals Nigeria. The stage had been set.
Prior to that moment, South Africa had been to the final thrice and had lost all of them - to Nigeria in 2000 and to Equatorial Guinea twice in 2008 and 2012. In Ghana once again against Nigeria, revenge would have been perfect for the Banyana Banyana but alas!
'I think when it comes to penalties, I will take it back to 2018 when we played against Nigeria in the final. I took a deciding penalty, and I missed it. Obviously, had I scored, we would have won the WAFCON. It was a deciding thing for me. I know how it feels when one misses a penalty. I went back home and I was practicing a lot because I didn't want that feeling anymore,' Motlhalo opens up on what changed her approach to penalties.
The scars of that final changed the trajectory of South Africa's preparations for the WAFCON going forward. They went on to defeat Nigeria in the next two editions in their opening games at the WAFCON. In 2018, they won thanks to a Thembi Kgatlana lone goal that did the job.
Four years later, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Hildah Magaia netted in a 2-1 victory over the Super Falcons to further emphasize that South Africa had found their mojo against the now nine-time record African champions. They deserved to sit on the high table of African Football.
Once beaten, twice shy
Sleek on and off the field, Motlhalo is naturally a go-getter. Born into a football family with her father taking up coaching and her uncle Joseph Motlhalo playing as a goalkeeper for South African giants Kaizer Chiefs between 1970 and 1985, Motlhalo was destined to play football.
'I grew up in a family that was football oriented. My Dad was a coach, and I think at the age of six when my Dad used to go coach the boys, he would just give me a ball, and I would juggle it. I think that's when he realized that this is what makes me happy. And that's how it started. When I play football, I forget my problems. It is my joy. It is my happiness,' she reveals.
Her passion of playing football has seen her travel across the world playing at major tournaments for South Africa including the Rio 2016 Olympics, two World Cups in 2019 in France and 2023 in Australia and New Zealand. Her professional journey at club level started in the NWSL – the American topflight league for Houston Dash in 2018 before playing in Beijing, China the following year. She then joined Djurgården in Sweden, Glasgow City in Scotland, Racing Louisville in the NWSL before returning to Glasgow City in 2025.
'I always practice penalties at club level as well as on the national team,' Motlhalo says with strong affirmation on her face. This experience continued to give her confidence as she grew in leaps and bounds from the spot.
At the WAFCON in 2022, Motlhalo netted twice from the penalty spot – one against Burundi in the group stages in a 3-1 victory that booked Banyana Banyana's place in the quarterfinals. They edged Tunisia 1-0 to progress to the semifinals where they met a stubborn Zambia side.
Once again, Motlhalo made no mistake. From the way she placed the ball on the spot to how she looked at goalkeeper Hazel Nali as if to check the pupils in her eyes to the way that she stepped back, assessed her angle, Motlhalo knew that this one was going straight in.
And just like that, in the 94th minute, she slotted the ball to earn South Africa a crucial victory that earned them a place in the final that they went on to win 2-1 against hosts Morocco.
'Zambia! I remember one of my teammates asking me, 'Are you taking it?' I didn't even respond to it. I kept praying, praying and I felt that my knees were shaking. I don't know how I did it, but I was nervous. But I am glad that it went in. Pressure is a privilege for me.'
On to the Promised Land
With the confidence of finally winning the WAFCON in 2022, Motlhalo is now writing history. A reminder that success comes to those who prepare for it and decide to face fear in the face. For Motlhalo, the confidence she gets from her teammates gives her superpowers.
'We have been practicing penalties, and it really shows. We feed off each other. It's mind games when it comes to penalties. Andile [Dlamini] (South Africa's goalkeeper) does not make it easy for us in training. To a point where I didn't feel pressure anymore. It's more like a moment that happens during the game, and I need to cherish it. So, every time that I am faced with pressure, I take it as, 'I need to be as calm as possible.' I just do what I have been doing in training.'
'I was always reminded by people that had you not missed. We would have been champions. I like being criticised because if I am not being criticized, I get worried because it means that people care. So, I took that in a positive way, and I made it work,' she emphasizes.
At the ongoing TotalEnergies WAFCON 2024 in Morocco, Motlhalo started from where she had left off in the past editions. In her usual routine, deliberate from the onset, she put one past Ghanaian custodian Cynthia Konlan to open the scoring for South Africa in this year's edition. The Banyana Banyana went on to win 2-0 against the three-time WAFCON finalists.
'I think I was calmer. Also, it was the thing that, I know I am going to take it. Even the team saying, no one is going to take it but Linda. That on its own gives me confidence as well. I think for me the important thing was being calm,' Motlhalo reminscences.
On Tuesday, July 22 in a highly contested encounter between South Africa and Nigeria, Motlhalo once again stood tall. Trailing 0-1 to the Super Falcons at the halftime break, South Africa needed something, anything. And just like that, when Magaia was brought down in the 18-yard box, Ugandan referee Shamirah Nabadda pointed to the spot.
Banyana Banyana captain Refiloe Jane picked up the ball, held onto it as all the players tuned their mindsets to that moment. Meanwhile, Motlhalo stood back, observing everything that was happening in front of her and calculating where to put the ball.
Effectively, she became the first and only player to score past Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie who had until the semifinals kept four clean sheets at the TotalEnergies WAFCON 2024 when she equalized against the Super Falcons.
Michelle Alozie found the back of the net in the 94th minute to shutter South Africa's dreams of defending their title but for Motlhalo and her teammates, they will head home knowing that they gave their all in a heavily contested matchup against the continent's crème de la crème.
Six WAFCON goals – five of them penalties in three editions has earned Motlhalo the title – African Penalty Queen. A title that is not necessarily consolation for their elimination from the title race but one that sets her apart from the crowd.