29 November 2018, by: Thabang Kgeledi

BANYANA BANYANA ON THE BRINK OF MORE GLORY

Banyana Banyana celebrated the country’s first-ever qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup after their semifinal win over Mali in the African Women’s Championship on Tuesday evening.

@Banyana_Banyana just keeps making us proud. Our national team just made history by qualifying for the FIFA Womens’ World Cup for the first time during today’s #AWCON2018 semi-final match. Somebody call France, tell them Phillip is coming! pic.twitter.com/aIi6lrLpTS

— President Cyril Ramaphosa (@CyrilRamaphosa) November 27, 2018

But…. The job is not done yet, Banyana Banyana still have a final to play.

On Saturday they meet Nigeria in the tournament decider at the Accra Stadium. After already creating history by qualifying for France 2019, a win against Nigeria could see them lift the Africa Women Cup of Nations for the first time.

Banyana were placed in Group B. The group of death. A group that had both defending champions Nigeria and former two-time winners Equatorial Guinea. Through constant practice, we as South Africans, have conditioned ourselves to have little faith in any of our footballing national teams. Failing to do so, is known to cause stress and heart palpitations.

However, it was evident after Banyana Banyana’s first game that we needed to decondition ourselves to give them support. Banyana beat Nigeria 1-0 in their opening match thanks to this beautiful late strike by Thembi Kgatlana.

In their second game, Banyana Banyana took it to the next level as they thrashed Equatorial Guinea 1–7. Banyana needed just a draw from their last fixture qualify for the semi-finals. In a what turned out to be a trickier game than what they would have expected, Banyana came away with a 1-1 draw against Zambia.

In the semi-final, Mali were the next team in the way of Banyana’s glory. Our girls swept the Malians away with a comfortable 2-0 win. A win that meant they qualified for the final of the tournament. A win that also meant they booked their place in next years World Cup in France.

CONGRATULATIONS!? ??@Banyana_Banyana will make their #FIFAWWC debut at France 2019 after reaching the final of #TotalAWCON18!?? Bienvenue en France!?? pic.twitter.com/UcETzY9sL7 — FIFA Women’s World Cup ?? (@FIFAWWC) November 27, 2018

*Fun fact: Bafana Bafana qualified for their first ever World Cup in 1998 and it was also held in France. What happened at the tournament is best to be left in the memories you don’t want to remember.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons needed a 4-2 win in a penalty shoot-out after their semi-final against Cameroon ended 0-0 after 120 minutes. Nigeria are ten-time champions and have won three of the last five, so it’s safe to say they are the favourites without sounding unpatriotic.Nigeria would not have been amused by losing to South Africa the first time around. Revenge is definitely on their mind.

@NGSuper_Falcons are through to France 2019 after 4-2 semi-final penalty win over Cameroon and became the 1st African team earn a qualification ticket to 2019 #FIFAWWC! ?? France?? , here we come! Congratulations, Nigeria ?? pic.twitter.com/RTTTkQC1xq

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) November 27, 2018

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned or a woman who lost their first game in an Africa Women Cup of Nations against South Africa.

2018 has been good to Banyana. Even with all the talent and experience Nigeria has, Banyana has shown they are capable of beating them. When it gets to the finals of a tournament, the team with the most gifted players isn’t always the one who wins. It’s the team with the most desire and hunger.

Banyana Banyana in 2018: Named 2017 CAF Women’s Team of the Year ? Crowned Cosafa Women’s Championship winners ?#AWCON2018 finalists ?? Qualified for the #2019FIFAWWC ?⚽️ All courtesy of @descaptain. ???? pic.twitter.com/oAdL7ROm2s — Kick Off (@KickOffMagazine) November 28, 2018

Banyana have been to the finals on four different occasions and lost all four games (twice to Nigeria). Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has shown to be an excellent motivator. But, how much motivation do you need when glory awaits and making the 53 million people in your country proud.

Betting ahead of the final has Nigeria as favourites at 1.45 and South Africa as slight underdogs paying 2.10 a Banyana Banyana win. This means that if you put R100 on South Africa to win, you’d get R210 plus your initial stake of R100 back if they won inside of 90 minutes. BET on Nigeria v South Africa Africa Women Cup of Nations.