WAFCON: Unconvincing favourites secure wins in sweltering first round of games in Morocco
South Africa and Nigeria both won their opening games while hosts Morocco drew 2-2 with Zambia
All 12 teams have played their first matches at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco, and a common factor has been the heat. With North Africa in the grip of a sweltering summer – and kick-offs as early as 3pm for Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and 5pm for matches in Groups B and C – players have had to battle both temperatures and opposition. There have been no upsets so far and plenty of goals, and some of the early narratives are starting to form. These are some takeaways from the first six matches.
Zambia arrive on the big stage
If there was any doubt about the challenge Zambia will pose at this tournament, that was put to bed in the first minute of play, when Barbra Banda scored the opener and left the Moroccan defence in the dust. Three defenders skulked away in her presence as she took the ball from the halfway line to the box, and then beat goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi. Morocco were so stunned and the Arabic commentator on local television seemed to miss the goal altogether – or he was playing it down. It took some time for them to come back. They dominated possession and equalised through a penalty, but Zambia’s strength was on display again when Banda set up Racheal Kundananji to take a 27th-minute lead. In the end, Morocco’s inspirational captain Ghizlane Chebbak drew them level again, but it was not the result that the hosts wanted.
Though there was little awareness of the event, in the streets of Oujda – where I am based – some people were following the games on their mobile phones and lamenting Morocco’s slow defence. The same criticism was shared in local media after the match. In the same breath, Moroccan analysts are now tipping Zambia to make the final, and though some of that may be because they’ve seen them up close, it is also because of how much Zambia can do with so little. They held just 30% of possession against Morocco, but every time they had the ball, it looked like they would make it count. Keep an eye on them over the next week as they make a case for the quarter-finals and beyond.
Defending and serial champions start with wins
Nigeria dubbed their pre-tournament campaign Mission X as they look to reclaim continental glory, and they were near-flawless in their opening match. LLike Zambia, they had an early goal through their best-known player, Asisat Oshoala, and then added two more against a Tunisian side that improved as the match went on. With Algeria and Botswana to come, Nigeria already have one foot in the last eight and may only expect more serious challenges to come in the knockouts.
The same cannot be said of defending champions South Africa, who got their title defence under way with a 2–0 win over a spirited Ghanaian side, who challenged them heavily – especially at the start. Ghana were in control of most of the first half an hour, with South Africa struggling to get the ball, let alone hold onto it, against a side that imposed themselves physically. Doris Boaduwaa, who plays in Israel, was particularly threatening, and a goal seemed imminent but it came against the run of play for South Africa. They were awarded – and converted – a 28th-minute penalty, which swung momentum in their favour, and they capitalised on that by doubling the advantage within the next five minutes.
Both sides faded at the hour mark as the searing Oujda heat sapped them and when the final whistle went, all 22 players stood with their hands on their knees, knackered. South Africa’s coach Desiree Ellis described the match as “hot, on and off the field.”
Most importantly for her will be how Refiloe Jane led the side after returning from an injury that kept her sidelined for 11 months. Jane was stretchered off the field during South Africa’s last group match of the 2023 World Cup, where she suffered an ankle injury. She returned to her Italian club, Sassuolo, where she did not have surgery but was managed through injections and rehabilitation, and was unable to regain full fitness. Jane only went under the knife when the season ended and she was back in South Africa, where she has since decided to stay. She described the gap between playing abroad and at home as “huge”, and said she sees it as her responsibility to “try and do extra work to try to maintain that international level”. In controlling the midfield against Ghana, that is exactly what she did.
Ghana were disappointed with the result, but showed what they can do on their return to the competition for the first time since 2018. Their new coach, Sweden’s Lars Kim Björkegren, said he took the job because he used to watch men’s AFCONs as a young man and thought it was a “cool” tournament to be part of. He now sees talent in Ghana that could make them an African giant – if not now, then in future. “Ghana has so much talent, it's something in the DNA – how they move the body, the control of the ball, everything in the passion for the game,” he said. “If you can add 5% of the Swedish discipline as well, we're going to have a team that is not just good in Africa – it's actually good in the world.”
What’s with the organisation?
Praised for its high-level infrastructure, Morocco was expected to pull off a quality event, but so far, a third of the teams have complained about the facilities available to them. On the record, South Africa, Nigeria, and the DRC expressed their disappointment with their hotels, citing small, shared rooms and no access to gyms or equipment. The South African management were seen creating DIY ice baths in inflatable pools using water from their hotel’s swimming pool shower. Off the record, it is understood that Tanzania are also not happy with where they are staying or with the long drive to their match venues.
One of the reasons for the accommodation choices is that this tournament is being played at second-tier venues, as the country prepares for the men’s AFCON and the 2030 World Cup. Jane indicated she understood that when she said there are “so many infrastructure changes happening in Morocco” – but also that she would like this “brought up with the organising committee.”
Quietly, it is being wondered whether the teams playing the Euros have to put up with substandard accommodation – and why that is so often the case for African tournaments. To the teams’ credit, none of them have used that as an excuse for anything; nor have they blamed the weather, which no one can do anything about. They’ve all just grinned and got on with it – a display of the extreme resilience of the African game.
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