Reigning champions South Africa opened their 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) campaign with an assured 2-0 victory over Ghana in their Group C opener on Monday in Oujda, Morocco.

First-half goals from Linda Motlhalo and Jermaine Seoposenwe sealed the win for Banyana Banyana, who wasted no time asserting their credentials as one of the favourites in the expanded 12-team tournament.

Coach Desiree Ellis’ side controlled the tempo from the onset and were rewarded in the 28th minute after a VAR review confirmed a penalty for a foul on Noxolo Cesane. Motlhalo calmly converted, sending Ghanaian goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan the wrong way.

Just six minutes later, South Africa doubled their lead through Seoposenwe, who latched onto a precise through ball from full-back Lebohang Ramalepe and finished clinically into the far corner.

Ghana, returning to the continental stage after missing the 2022 edition, struggled to cope with South Africa’s pace and organisation in the first half. Though the Black Queens showed more attacking intent after the break, they were left frustrated by missed opportunities. Evelyn Badu and Alice Kusi both rattled the crossbar, while South African goalkeeper Andile Dlamini pulled off a string of important saves to maintain her clean sheet.

South Africa expertly managed the closing stages, introducing substitutes Hildah Magaia and Ronnel Donnelly to consolidate possession and stifle Ghana’s late attempts at a comeback.

The result extends South Africa’s strong record in WAFCON openers, with the team having now won their last three tournament curtain-raisers, including notable victories over Nigeria in 2018 and 2022.

Ghana must now regroup quickly, with crucial matches against Mali and Tanzania to come in a competitive Group C.

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For the first time in three consecutive editions, Nigeria’s Super Falcons have surged to the top of their group after just a match. This follows their 3-0 defeat of Tunisia on Sunday and the 1-0 win of Algeria over Botswana in the same Group B.

This is a far cry from the episodes of 2018 and 2022. The signs were there that a determined Super Falcons were set to break their patterns of first-match jitters as they stamped their authority early in the game.

What a fast start as Asisat Oshoala smashed a glancing header just four minutes into the game from an Omorinsola Babajide’s free kick.

Babajide, the assist provider to Asisat, then turned a scorer herself with a second goal in the added time of the first half.

Chiwendu Ihezuo completed the rout with her 84th-minute goal. The result is a momentum boostas the dominant performance and three early points give the Super Falcons breathing room in a group that includes unpredictable opponents.

So, the Mission X is activated,aiming for a record-extending 10th title. The mission has begun in style, boosting confidence for the knockout stages.

They will now face the third-placed Botswana on Thursday, while second-placed Algeria face the bottom-placed Tunisia in a North African derby.

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Algeria kicked off their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2024 with a narrow but vital 1-0 victory over Botswana in their Group B opener, thanks to an early strike from Inter Milan midfielder Ghoutia Karchouni.

The match, played at the Père Jégo on Stadium night, saw Algeria take control from the outset. 

Early goals continue to be the order of the tournament so far, as the North Africans broke the deadlock in just the 10th minute when Inès Boutaleb delivered a precise cut-back from the right flank, which Karchouni calmly slotted home to hand the North Africans the lead.

Despite the early goal, Botswana showed resilience and created opportunities of their own, registering 10 shots with three on target. However, Algeria’s defence held firm, and goalkeeper Chaima Bouheni made crucial saves to preserve the lead.

Algeria, who looked firmly in control of much of the proceedings, enjoyed the better attacking statistics overall, finishing with 14 total shots and seven on target.

They kept the Botswana defence under constant pressure but were unable to extend their advantage.

As the match entered its final minutes, Botswana pushed for an equaliser, but Algeria’s organised backline and timely interventions ensured they claimed all three points.

The win sees Algeria make an encouraging start to Group B, while Botswana will be left ruing missed chances but can take positives from a competitive performance against one of the group’s favourites.

Botswana will need to put the disappointment behind them when they face the Super Falcons on Thursday, while Algeria will look to continue with their form when they take on Tunisia.

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