Four years ago this team stood on a pitch in Morocco with a trophy nobody in South African women’s football had ever lifted. On Friday, in the same country, a lot of the same players find out whether that team still exists.
Banyana Banyana vs Ivory Coast is not a group game any more. It is the whole tournament compressed into ninety minutes, because South Africa have zero points, Côte d’Ivoire have three and a goal difference of plus three, and only two teams come out of Group B. Lose and it is finished with a match still to play. Draw and you are relying on other people. Win and everything resets.
Desiree Ellis has four days to change a performance. Here is what she is up against, and what has to be different.
The match, in the details you need
| Fixture | South Africa vs Côte d’Ivoire, WAFCON 2026 Group B, matchday two |
| Date | Friday 31 July 2026 |
| Kick-off | 19:00 SAST |
| Venue | Moulay Rachid Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco |
| Watch | SuperSport Football Plus, DStv channel 202, with highlights on SuperSport Blitz |
| Also playing | Burkina Faso vs Tanzania, same matchday |
Who Côte d’Ivoire actually are
Do not read the twelve-year absence as rust. Read it as hunger.
The Lady Elephants have not been at a WAFCON since 2014. They are only here because CAF expanded the tournament to sixteen teams and handed out four additional places, one of which went their way after they lost a qualifying shootout to Senegal. That is the sort of second chance a squad either wastes or attacks.
They attacked it. Burkina Faso were 3-0 down by half time on Monday and lost 4-1. Rebecca Elloh scored a penalty inside seven minutes, Ines Konan took two, Nsira Ouedraogo added the fourth after Adama Congo had briefly given Burkina Faso something to hold onto.
Their coach is Reynald Pedros, who has won a UEFA Women’s Champions League, and it shows in the shape of the team. This is not a side that sits and counter-attacks. They want the ball and they are comfortable with it, which is a completely different problem to the one Tanzania set.
One piece of good news for South Africa: Mariam Diakite is suspended after a red card against Burkina Faso, so Pedros has to change his defence.
Head to head
There is almost nothing to go on. One competitive meeting, at the 2014 WAFCON, which South Africa won 2-1. Different squads, different era, different tournament. Treat it as a fact for the record and nothing more.
What has to change from Monday
The Tanzania defeat was not a mystery. Ellis diagnosed it herself: slow tempo in the first half, chances created and not taken, a goal conceded from a pattern that had already been flagged. Three specific things need to look different on Friday.
1. The first twenty minutes. Against Tanzania, South Africa passed sideways while their opponents got organised. Côte d’Ivoire will not sit as deep, which is an opportunity, not a relief. If the tempo is slow again, this becomes a midfield contest against a Pedros side that wants exactly that.
2. Somebody has to finish. Hildah Magaia over the bar. Nthabiseng Majiya wide from close range. Three clear openings to Tanzania’s one, and one goal, from a corner, from a centre-back. Thembi Kgatlana is back at a WAFCON for the first time since 2022 and she has to be the outlet, not just the runner.
3. The left side has to be shut. Tanzania’s winner came from a cut inside off the left wing after two earlier warnings from the same channel. Côte d’Ivoire have Konan and Elloh, both of whom scored on Monday, and they are better at that than Tanzania are.
Banyana Banyana vs Ivory Coast: the likely XI
Ellis made only one change at half time on Monday, bringing Majiya on, and she has no reported injuries to work around. Expect continuity with a possible midfield adjustment to give the back four more cover.
South Africa, probable 4-3-3: Dlamini; Ramalepe, Dhlamini, Mbane, Gamede; Moodaly-Salgado, Jane, Motlhalo; Cesane, Kgatlana, Magaia.
Côte d’Ivoire, probable 4-3-3: Aramatou; Aboa Kachi, Anastasie, Amon Rebecca, Kakounan; N Ouedraogo, Kouassi, Diallo; Konan, H Ouedraogo, Elloh.
Treat both as informed guesses rather than confirmed teams. Neither coach has named a side.
The permutations, in plain language
South Africa have zero points. Two teams qualify. There is no best-third-place route at this tournament, so the table below is the whole picture.
| Friday result | What it means for Banyana |
|---|---|
| Win | Level on three points with Tanzania and possibly Côte d’Ivoire going into the last round. Beat Burkina Faso on 4 August and South Africa are very likely through. |
| Draw | One point from two games. They then have to beat Burkina Faso and hope the Tanzania vs Côte d’Ivoire result on the same night goes their way. Goal difference becomes live. |
| Defeat | Mathematically finished with a game to spare, regardless of what happens elsewhere. |
Beyond the group there is a World Cup at stake. The four WAFCON semi-finalists qualify directly for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The four losing quarter-finalists go into a play-off for two more African places. Ellis has been direct about the target all along: “We want to do well at the WAFCON and qualify for the World Cup in Brazil next year.” A group-stage exit does not close that door, but it makes the rest of the route considerably steeper.
One thing worth saying out loud
Opinion. The framing everywhere this week has been “defending champions in crisis”. That is not accurate. Nigeria are the defending champions, having won the last edition in Morocco and knocked South Africa out at the semi-final stage on the way. Banyana are the 2022 winners, and they have not reached a final since.
Which is a harder story, and a better one. Friday is not about protecting something. It is about proving something. Twenty-six players, one of them eighteen years old, in a stadium in Casablanca, against a team that has waited twelve years for the chance.
That is worth staying up for. Kick-off times for every match are on the Fixtures & Results page.
Frequently asked questions
What time is Banyana Banyana vs Ivory Coast?
Kick-off is 19:00 SAST on Friday 31 July 2026 at Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca. That is 18:00 Morocco time, the early slot on the matchday.
Where can I watch Banyana Banyana vs Ivory Coast in South Africa?
Live on SuperSport Football Plus, DStv channel 202, with streaming on DStv Stream and highlights on SuperSport Blitz. All 34 tournament matches are being carried across Sub-Saharan Africa.
What do Banyana Banyana need to qualify for the quarter-finals?
The top two in Group B advance and there is no best third place. After losing to Tanzania, South Africa realistically need to beat Côte d’Ivoire on Friday and Burkina Faso on 4 August.
Have South Africa played Ivory Coast at WAFCON before?
Once competitively, at the 2014 WAFCON, which South Africa won 2-1. Côte d’Ivoire had not qualified for the tournament since.
Who is Ivory Coast’s coach at WAFCON 2026?
Reynald Pedros, a UEFA Women’s Champions League winner, who has built a possession-based side. They beat Burkina Faso 4-1 in their opener.