Banyana Banyana defeated Tunisia 1-0 on Thursday in Rabat, although they made things difficult for themselves with a wasteful performance. Jermaine Seoposenwe struck early to put Banyana Banyana on their path to a second consecutive Women’s World Cup.
South Africa will finish in the top four at the continental championship, which acts as a qualifying event for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2018, if they win in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco.
The other nations that will travel to Australia in July include Morocco, Nigeria, and Zambia.
After winning all three of their opening group games at Wafcon, including a victory over the defending champions Nigeria in Rabat last week, South Africa, who made their first World Cup final appearance in France in 2019, was heavily favored to advance once more.
Tunisia was an underdog because they had never participated in the Cup of Nations before and lacked expertise at this level.
They certainly prove to be a tough opponent and gave South Africa some tense moments, but the outcome for wasteful Banyana should have been more decisive.
Seoposenwe sprinted onto a ball that split the Tunisian defense, held her composure, and neatly lobbed the ball beyond the goalkeeper to effectively seal the victory.
Seoposenwe was a continuous threat, but her offensive partner Nxolo Cesane was either caught offside when she had an excellent chance or she blasted wide over the top when she did have a chance and had a goal at her mercy.
In their semifinal Wafcon matchup, South Africa will play Zambia on Monday. Nigeria will next take on the Moroccan hosts.
South Africa experienced some anxious moments as a result of Tunisia’s unsuccessful late penalty demand in stoppage time of the game.
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