Banyana Banyana were held to a 1-1 draw by Tanzania in a 2025 Wafcon Group C match played at the Stade d’Honneur in Oujda, Morocco on Friday night.
The South Africans defeated Ghana 2-0 in their opening match against Ghana midweek, and they still lead the group with four points after two matches.
Banyana, who are the defending champions, are still on course to qualify for the quarterfinal stage ahead of their final group match against Mali on Monday. Mali are also on four points and the final match will be interesting.
With the inclusion of the quarterfinals in the knockout stage in this year’s tournament, the top two teams and two of the best third-placed teams advanced to the knockout stage.
Tanzania took the game to Banyana and opened the scoring via a header from captain Ope Clement who beat SA goalkeeper Kaylin Swaart hands down from a set-piece in the first half. Bambanani Mbane equalised for SA from a corner kick to a salvage a draw for coach Desiree Ellis’ team.
Before the match, Tanzania coach Bakari Shime had said that they respected Banyana but it did not mean they feared them, as it turned out in the match:
“This is a different match from the opener against Mali. South Africa are the defending champions, and it is not easy to play against them. But we are well prepared to play against them according to their ability. I will give them much respect on the field and they will give them much respect, and then we’ll do everything carefully,” said Shime.
“We lost two matches against South Africa in the 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers but if you remember those matches, you will recall Tanzania’s performance in both games. Yes, they are the defending champions, more experienced than us, and we take every caution in this game.”
