South Africa edge resilient Senegal to advance to TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON semi-finals
Following 120 minutes of tense, goalless football, Banyana Banyana triumphed 4–1 in the shootout to secure a semi-final date with Nigeria thanks to heroic saves by Andile Dlamini.
The match was a tightly contested affair from the first whistle, with both sides creating chances but lacking the finishing touch. South Africa saw efforts from Jermaine Seoposenwe, Hildah Magaia and Karabo Dhlamini denied by Senegal's resolute defending and the excellent goalkeeping of Adji Ndiaye.
Senegal threatened through Mama Diop and Nguenar Ndiaye, but the in-form Dlamini stood tall in goal for South Africa with a commanding performance, including crucial saves late in the match.
VAR waved off a potential South African penalty, and chances remained few and far between as both teams prepared for a decisive shootout.
In the penalty drama that followed, it was Dlamini who emerged as the hero, making two decisive saves—first denying Nguenar Ndiaye and then Méta Kandé—to swing the momentum firmly in South Africa's favour.
Karabo Dhlamini, Tiisetso Makhubela, Gabriela Salgado, and Bambanani Mbane all converted with precision, showing nerves of steel.
Mbane's top-corner finish sealed a 4–1 shootout win and sent South Africa into a blockbuster semi-final against familiar foes Nigeria.
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Tears of relief can be a thing. For Jermaine Seoposenwe, the end of the penalty shootout against Ghana in the third-place playoff at the TotalEnergies WAFCON 2024 on Friday, was the end of her journey with the South African national women's football team. A 15-year journey in national team colours filled with pride, hard work and overall excellence is what will go down memory lane. So many told and untold stories along the way, teammates that became family, trips overseas and most importantly – the fulfilment of a childhood dream. Seoposenwe, who was born in Cape Town, was the first female to score a goal for South Africa at a World Cup in 2010 and has since grown into a crucial member for the Banyana Banyana. Cheeky off the field with her teammates, tough on the field of play against her opponents and sleek in her touch on the ball. Graceful after games regardless of the result. A treasure. Lasting legacy Every girl that loves and wants to play football dreams of representing her nation. For Seoposenwe, she realized this dream. In her glowing career with the Banyana Banyana, she scored the goal that took South Africa to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil which she also competed at, played at two FIFA Women's World Cups (2019 and 2023) as well as four WAFCON editions (2016, 2018, 2022 and 2025). And as South Africa's number 12 retires from international football after amassing 112 caps, she wraps up what has been an immense contribution to a golden generation of South African football. An inspiration to many a young girl and a downright trailblazer. Her former teammate and ex Banyana Banyana international Amanda Dlamini told CAFOnline that, 'She has had a very colourful and rewarding journey in the national team. When I met her, she was young, had raw talent and was very ambitious with a great fighting spirit. She's been able to maintain that over the years. 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I don't think we can thank her enough, but we honour her, and we carry her spirit with us. And to be honest, I don't think we have enough words to say thank you to Jermaine for everything that she's done. She's always stepped onto the field, gave her all on the field and that is who Jermaine is. Leaving everything out there, stepping up in 2022 when Thembi [Kgatlana] got injured after not being part of the team for a long while due to visa issues and that is who Jermaine is.' Jane, who has known Seoposenwe for over a decade and with whom the Banyana Banyana won the WAFCON 2022, spoke about her glorious career, 'Jermaine has been a very important figure in the team. From when she was still a teenager to now upon her retirement. She's contributed immensely on and off the field and she leaves an amazing legacy – one for upcoming players to look forward to and to carry on with that.' 'Obviously, we would have loved to give her a perfect sendoff, but we couldn't do it. 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'She has a degree and surely big plans for the future. But she should know that she will have to work hard for herself when there's no support of people doing things for her like the football environment does. Everything is done for you (laughs). She should learn to pivot at every juncture as she is yet to discover so much about herself. It's about building a network of people who will be able to hold you up outside of your family, that support structure will always and there but community is equally important in this space.' Seoposenwe holds a Marketing Degree from Samford University in Alabama.
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Nine days to go: CHAN is the start of Kenya football revolution
Benni McCarthy is a name that needs little introduction in African football. The South African legend, who lit up the pitch as a striker for Bafana Bafana and won the UEFA Champions League with FC Porto, has now stepped into the dugout as head coach of Kenya's Harambee Stars. His first major test? The TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 – a competition exclusively reserved for players active in domestic leagues. McCarthy, who left his role at English Premier League giants Manchester United, has taken on the challenge of leading Kenya not just in a debut CHAN tournament, but also as one of the co-hosts, alongside Tanzania and Uganda. It's a baptism of fire that the charismatic coach embraces with the same passion that marked his playing days. 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Group A includes former champions like DR Congo and Morocco—how do you plan to navigate such a tough group? Whoever drew these balls…. Mariga (Macdonald) killed us.. (laughs). But, honestly, it's a great challenge. When you play football and then convert to become a coach, you always have that saying that to win anything you've got to beat the best. For you to get to what you want, to be the best, the difficult teams will always be in your path and you have to beat them anyway. We have a great opportunity with two-time champions in the DRC and Morocco, Angola which is also very well respected as well as a tough nation in Zambia who have always been there in Africa football. And now, we have a Kenya who want to have a taste of the top. This is our time and the squad we have gathered is hungry and want success. How better than start this in your own backyard. We play our matches on our home ground infront of the home fans and this is a perfect opportunity to do exceptionally well and eliminate teams that could probably get to final early. This will be a massive challenge and a good test for the boys as well. We will be ready and come CHAN, I can very confidently state that we will be a team fearful of no one. What are your expectations from the local-based players representing Kenya at CHAN 2024? I have watched lots of them in the league and I know that we have picked quality. I have also had the chance to for a few training camps after I arrived here and I got a first-hand experience to work with some of these players and judge them by myself. I see them and what levels they are at hand what I think we can get them to be. They have a mentality, mindset, work ethic and talent to get the work done. I know their abilities and I know what they can do. Now it is just a matter of implementing it on the pitch on matchday. How has the support from the FKF and government impacted your team's preparation? Honestly, it has been amazing. With the limitations that are there, they try to give us everything. They are doing the best they can knowing that this is not the same ideal situation like for the coach of England or France national team who have everything at their disposal. For Africa, it is a process but we are working to get to the level where the established nations are and it is just a matter of time. We are moving in the right direction and that is helpful when you see they are trying, then as a coach you become a bit lenient with expectations but I am truly grateful to FKF and the government because they have been very supportive throughout. In terms of tactics, how different is CHAN compared to other continental tournaments? I think they don't differ much this is just the same continental competition with equal pressure, equal expectation. The only difference is that you are playing with local based players. But in terms of the pressure, and what you want to do and implement as a coach, it is the same. This is the first time CHAN will be hosted across three countries. How do you plan to manage the logistical and travel challenges? This will be a great opportunity to see Tanzania and Uganda if we manage to get to that stage of the competition. For us it is not much about a challenge because football world over is about travelling and movement across different cultures, different languages and all and this will give the players a better understanding that if you make it in football this will be part of your daily life. You have to adapt real quick. For us we are lucky that we are playing all our group stage matches at home and we will try to finish on top so that at least we also play the knockouts a home. What role do you expect the Kenyan fans in Nairobi to play in motivating the team? The fans have a huge role to play in every tournament especially for the home team. Throughout my career both as a coach and player I have seen what kind of difference the home crowd can make. This is the point where we want to have a full stadium every time we play because we need that 12th man push. We are not in an easy group and for such you need every little advantage you can get for yourself. The fans will play a really huge role. We saw the kind of passion Kenyan fans when we played at home against Gabon and we want to witness that same passion at Kasarani on August 3 when we play our first match against DR Congo. Which local clubs have contributed the most players to the squad, and what does that say about domestic football? We have tried to put in a balance from across the leagues. Of course we didn't have an ideal situation especially towards the end of the season with several venue closures because of the CHAN preparations and this limited the number of local matches we watched. But those I watched plus the number of local training camps we had already gave me a picture of who to use. I think the Kenyan league is growing and we are yet to see the best of it. There is more space for growth and improvement but I am really impressed with the quality and competition in the league. What would you consider a successful CHAN campaign for Kenya? When you are champions, that is success. Anything else, that's progress especially in a short space of time. We need to see how far the players have come and how well they have done. So far, they have pushed themselves to a decent standard where we expect bigger and better things. But the ultimate success, is to win CHAN. Beyond CHAN, how do you plan to use this experience to build towards AFCON 2027? The experience I want out of this is that you have a team so well groomed, they end up leaving international players out of the senior team because of how well they have done and how competitive the locals have become. This will only be of massive benefit to the national team, the players themselves and the country. I hope that this team becomes so formidable that it will become difficult to integrate the international players. This is the best test for them.
