Banyana Banyana Fight Back to Draw Against Ivory Coast at WAFCON

South Africa are still breathing in Morocco. Barely.

Two goals down to Ivory Coast in Casablanca and staring at the exit door, Banyana Banyana dragged themselves back from the brink 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 late. Then it came again.

Thembi Kgatlana struck first in the second half to halve the deficit and jolt South Africa into belief. The pressure grew, the clock raced, and the tension inside the stadium thickened as every attack felt like a last roll of the dice.

Then, at the death, Hildah Magaia arrived.

Her equaliser, slammed home seconds before the final whistle, did more than level the match. It yanked South Africa back into the tournament, turned despair into a flicker of hope, and gave Banyana their first point in Group B after two games.

The table still makes for grim reading. Ivory Coast sit three points ahead of South Africa, who now stand on the edge of elimination and no longer control their own fate.

Tanzania, also on three points, can shut the door on them tonight. A Tanzanian win over Burkina Faso in the later Group B clash in Casablanca would secure Tanzania’s place in the quarterfinals and pile even more pressure on South Africa’s final outing.

Banyana’s last group match comes on Tuesday against Burkina Faso.

They will walk into it knowing exactly where they stand — and whether that stoppage-time strike from Magaia was the start of a revival, or just a dramatic pause before the curtain falls.