Côte d’Ivoire sealed top spot in Group B of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after a composed 2-1 victory over Tanzania on Tuesday, while South Africa joined them in the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Burkina Faso.
The Lady Elephants completed an unbeaten group-stage campaign with seven points from three matches, marking an impressive return to the continental showpiece after a 12-year absence. South Africa, meanwhile, bounced back from a difficult start to finish second with four points and extend their title defence into the knockout rounds.
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Tanzania and Burkina Faso, who both ended the group stage with three points, were eliminated.
Lady Elephants finish the job in style
Tanzania entered the decisive fixture knowing victory would guarantee a historic place in the quarter-finals but were dealt a major setback before kick-off with the suspension of Hasnath Ubamba following her red card against Burkina Faso.
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Despite the Twiga Stars’ determination, it was Côte d’Ivoire who controlled the decisive moments.
The breakthrough arrived just before half-time when Nsira Ouedraogo latched onto an excellent pass from Ines Konan to calmly fire the Lady Elephants ahead in the 44th minute.
The Ivorians tightened their grip on the contest after the restart and doubled their advantage in the 68th minute when Konan confidently converted from the penalty spot after Tanzania conceded a spot-kick.
Credit: CAF Women on X
Tanzania refused to surrender and grabbed a consolation goal deep into stoppage time through Diana Msewa, who converted a penalty in the ninth minute of added time. However, the late strike came too late to deny Côte d’Ivoire maximum points.
The victory ensured Reynald Pedros’ side finished the group unbeaten with two wins and a draw, scoring eight goals and underlining their status as one of the tournament’s surprise packages.
Although Tanzania bowed out, the East Africans leave Morocco with plenty of positives after claiming their maiden WAFCON victory earlier in the tournament and scoring in all three group matches.
Kgatlana sends South Africa through
In the day’s other Group B fixture, South Africa secured the result they needed with a narrow 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso.
The Lady Stallions started brightly and should have taken an early lead when Alimata Belem found herself one-v-one with the goalkeeper but hesitated, allowing South Africa to recover.
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Banyana Banyana gradually settled and nearly opened the scoring through Isabella Ludwig, whose powerful header drifted narrowly wide.
Their breakthrough arrived in the 21st minute when Fikile Magama’s inviting delivery found Thembi Kgatlana, who made no mistake from close range to score what proved to be the match-winning goal.
Credit: CAF Women on X
Kgatlana remained South Africa’s biggest attacking threat and almost doubled the lead before half-time after a clever move orchestrated by captain Refilwe Jane, but her effort sailed just over the bar.
Burkina Faso pressed relentlessly after the interval in search of an equaliser that would keep their tournament alive, but South Africa’s disciplined defence stood firm to preserve the slender advantage.
The victory confirmed Banyana Banyana’s place in the last eight alongside Group B winners Côte d’Ivoire, setting up an intriguing quarter-final stage as the race for the continental title gathers momentum.
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