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Bantwana favoured against Gabon in Fifa Women’s World Cup qualifier second leg

By Siya Pongco , in Football | Featured Football | News , at 2025-01-16 Tags: ,

The u17 South African girls’ national team, known as Bantwana, faces Gabon on 18 January at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, in the second leg of their u17 Confederation of African Football (CAF) | FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier.

The Gabonese arrived at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Thursday, ahead of the match, with the tie pretty much already decided.

South Africa is in a powerful position after thrashing Gabon 12-1 in their backyard, at the Stade de Franceville in Franceville, Gabon, on 11 January.

Coach Ntombifuthi Khumalo’s team ran riot in the away leg, scoring their 12 goals in the first half of the match. Khwezi Khoza led the charge with four goals, while Akhona Simamane and Nomfundo Nzuzo each scored a hattrick. Captain Katlego Malebana got in on the action, too, slotting two goals.

At halftime, South Africa held a commanding lead. Bantwana was, however, devastated not to finish the match as it was called off after the first half. Heading into the second stanza, Gabon had only six players fit to play. Thus, according to the Fifa rules, the match was suspended. South Africa was granted a 12-1 win.

After the match, Khumalo expressed her disappointment that the match had been called off midway through. “I’m very disappointed because the first game remains something big for us,” she told Safa Media. “It’s a start for these World Cup qualifiers, but again our mandate was to make sure we win the first leg so that we prepare ourselves for the next leg.”

Given the one-sided nature of their first-leg victory, Bantwana is expected to encounter few problems in securing another win in the second-leg match.

The contest kicks off at 16:00 at the renowned Lucas Moripe Stadium, and a large turnout of fans from Pretoria and the wider Gauteng region is expected.

South Africa is aiming to qualify for the 2025 u17 Fifa Women’s World Cup, which will be played in Morocco from 17 October to 8 November.

Siya Pongco
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.