The Black Queens of Ghana defeated South Africa’s Banyana Banyana 4-3 on penalties in a thrilling third-place match at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Friday night, earning them the bronze medal in the 2024 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
After a tense ninety minutes, both teams had ended regulation time tied at one, forcing the match into a penalty shootout, where the West Africans were able to remain more composed. Nonhlanhla Mthandi took advantage of a mistake by the Ghanaian goalie in the 45th minute to put Banyana Banyana ahead, giving South Africa the lead shortly before halftime.
But Ghana fought back hard in the second half, and their efforts were rewarded in the 67th minute when Alice Kusi scored the equalizer to make the score 1-1. Since there was no additional time in the game, it went directly to penalties, where luck fluctuated.
South Africa’s first goals came from Linda Motlhalo and Bambanane Mbane, while Ghana’s first penalty kick was missed by Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah.
However, South Africa’s Holweni and Hilda Magaia had their attempts saved, and Ghana quickly bounced back as Alice Kusi and Josephine Ansua Bontsu both struck the net.
A pivotal moment occurred when Jennifer Cudjoe of Ghana missed, but she converted the retake after a VAR review. Ghana’s Nancy Amor scored the game-winning penalty after Jermaine Seoposenwe attempted to keep South Africa alive with a goal of his own.
It was a great moment for Ghana, who suffered a devastating loss to Morocco in the semi-finals and just missed out on a spot in the final. As part of their preparation for the next World Cup qualification campaign, their coach, Kim Björkegren, had emphasized the need of completing the competition strongly.
After losing to Nigeria in their quarterfinal match and losing their star winger Gabriela Salgado to an untimely injury, South Africa had yet another difficult night.
