The fact that three African nations have reached the Women’s World Cup round of 16 is a moment to savour and richly deserved, but perhaps exceeds the expectations of even the most optimistic of fans.
Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco each earned their place in the knockout stages to make history for the continent – the first time Africa has had a trio of teams make it out of the pool phase.
And even Zambia ended on a high as their dreams were already over when they played Costa Rica in their final game, but go home with a first-ever World Cup win following a 3-1 success and a steely resolve to be back in four years’ time.
Nigeria finished runners-up in group B following a 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland and take on England in the next stage. South Africa meet the Netherlands in their round of 16 game and Morocco tackle France.
Nigeria advanced unbeaten with a win and two draws, and enter the knockout rounds for the third time, and second in as many global finals. The Super Falcons reached the quarterfinals in 1999 when the competition had only 16 teams, and agonisingly lost on a golden goal to Brazil in a 4-3 thriller.
They got out of their group in the expanded 32-team tournament in 2019 but were well-beaten 3-0 by Germany. Can they go one better this time around? England present a huge challenge.
AFRICAN STAR PLAYERS
Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie has been their star with two Player of the Match awards in their three games to date and will be busy again.
But no player in the entire tournament averaged more than Christy Ucheibe’s six tackles per game, a massive nod to the hard work she puts into games.
The clever boffins who analyse things such as possession, pass percentages, defensive and offensive key indicators etc, have Nigeria currently ranked as the 15th-best team in the tournament so far. Slightly ahead of South Africa (18) and Morocco (22).
For the record, Netherlands are top, followed by Japan, England and France, which shows the enormity of the challenge facing the African teams in the next round.
South Africa claimed an epic 3-2 win over Italy to book a historic first place in the round of 16, coming through a tough pool that also included Sweden and Argentina. They competed superbly in all three games.
Thembi Kgatlana has unsurprisingly been the star with two goals and two assists so far, putting her among the leading players in the competition. But credit must go to Hildah Magaia. With two goals and an assist herself, she is not far behind.
Linda Motlhalo has for many had a quiet tournament, but her pass completion of 80 per cent is the best in the team and she keeps things ticking over in the midfield. A word too for defenders Bongeka Gamede and Lebohang Ramalepe, who have averaged 4.3 tackles per game, putting them high on the list across the tournament.
Only South Korea (29) put in more tackles per game than Banyana (26) among all the teams in the competition, while only three sides (USA, Italy and Vietnam) have had more interceptions.
MOROCCO'S INCREDIBLE TURNAROUND
Morocco had a complete turnaround in fortunes as their 1-0 win over Colombia put them into the next stage, which had seemed highly unlikely when they lost their opener 6-0 to Germany.
But two 1-0 wins since then and a steely resolve with superb organisation has seen them progress. Statistically, their best player has been Anissa Lahmari, who also got the goal that beat Colombia.
But she has been a willing runner and won almost three times as many aerial duels in the team as any other player, willing to put her body, and head, on the line.
The French-born midfielder is a product of the Paris St Germain youth academy but currently plays for Guingamp.
Zambia bowed out, but with their heads held high following their win over Costa Rica as Barbra Banda got the World Cup goal she so desperately craved.
They saved the best for last after a couple of 5-0 defeats, but will have learned plenty and with a relatively young squad, have a lot to build on.
