Women's Afcon gold and glory in sight for 'absolutely magnificent' Banyana Banyana

Leading up to the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis and her charges sat together to ensure clarity on what they wanted to achieve before stepping onto the flight to Rabat.

The first step for Banyana was simple: win their group which features the likes of Nigeria, Burundi and Botswana.

They did so with flying colours and earned nine points to advance to the quarter-finals.

Their first significant aim was to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and winning the quarters would guarantee their participation.

THE COACH IS HERE! ??#TotalEnergiesWAFCON2022 | #EmpoweringOurGame | @Banyana_Banyana | @descaptain pic.twitter.com/Mif7hbnHW8

Banyana did the business, and while it was not a convincing 1-0 victory against Tunisia, it was hard-fought and emotional. Star forward Thembi Kgatlana had been ruled out for the rest of the tournament with an Achilles injury, and they also had to deal with a Covid-19 outbreak.

Monday's semi-final was their most prominent match against a team that whooped them 3-0 in February during an international friendly.

But winning the game ticked off another goal for Ellis and her Banyana ladies.

Thanks to VAR (video assistant referee), Banyana were awarded a controversial penalty after Jermaine Seoposenwe was brought down on the edge of the box.

Midfielder Linda Mothlalo netted the stoppage-time penalty against Zambia, keeping Banyana’s dream alive.

They will now have the chance at achieving their primary objective of winning the Women's Afcon.

Banyana will feature in back-to-back Women's Afcon finals (sixth final in total) following their penalty shootout defeat to Nigeria in the 2018 edition.

1995 Women's Afcon final

1st leg: