Banyana Banyana's Dramatic Fightback at WAFCON

South Africa are still breathing in Morocco. Barely, but breathing.

Two goals down to Ivory Coast in Casablanca and staring at the exit door, Banyana Banyana dragged themselves off the canvas to salvage a 2-2 draw and keep their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign alive by the thinnest of margins.

The response came after the break. Thembi Kgatlana, as so often, lit the fuse with a second-half strike that halved the deficit and shifted the mood inside the stadium. From there, South Africa chased everything, pressed higher, and refused to accept that their tournament might be over after just two games.

The clock bled into added time. Ivory Coast tried to shut it down, slow it down, see it out. Then Hildah Magaia arrived.

Seconds before the final whistle, Magaia struck the equaliser that turned despair into a roar of relief. One swing of her boot, and Banyana’s WAFCON hopes moved from obituary territory to “still possible”.

The draw gives South Africa their first point in Group B after two matches. It is not what they wanted, but it is something to hold on to. They now sit three points behind Ivory Coast and can no longer shape their own destiny. Other results will decide whether this comeback becomes a turning point or a mere delay of the inevitable.

Tanzania, also on three points, can seize control of the group. A win over Burkina Faso in Casablanca this evening would send them through to the quarterfinals and heap even more pressure on Banyana.

For South Africa, the equation is simple on paper and far more complicated in reality. Their final group game comes against Burkina Faso on Tuesday. Victory is non-negotiable. Then they wait, calculate, and hope.

They are still alive at WAFCON. Now they must prove that this furious late fightback was the start of something, not just a dramatic escape act on a nervous night in Casablanca.