Dlamini believes Banyana have the fight to finally seal WAFCON glory

Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Andile Dlamini has urged South Africa to seize the moment in Saturday’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final against hosts Morocco at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat (kick off 10pm SA time).

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Dlamini and her Banyana teammates, aiming to finally win the competition after five runners-up finishes, have been able to grind out positive results at the tournament, despite some lacklustre performances and a lack of firepower upfront.

Banyana’s semifinal against Zambia was a case in point, where Desiree Ellis’ charges relied on a controversial last minute penalty to secure a 1-0 victory over the Copper Queens.

But, despite a host of missed chances throughout the tournament, the defense has remained solid as a rock, and now the team faces just one more hurdle. team faces one more hurdle in their bid to lift the Wafcon title.

“It has not been pretty or convincing (performance), but the most important thing is that we have been getting the desired results, that is why we now find ourselves in the final,” said Dlamini.

“I think another thing that is important is that we have fought to the end in every game that we have played and that says a lot about our team. We want to lift the trophy,” said the shot-stopper, who missed out on the Caf Interclub Player of the Year award on Thursday.

“We have been in so many finals – of course the most memorable one is the 2018 tournament when we lost on penalties to Nigeria. Now we are facing Morocco, who are playing in their own backyard. But, this is football and we are going out there to make sure that we get a win.”

The WAFCON final will see new continental champions being crowned, with Morocco making it to the final for the very first time. The Lionesses of Atlas ousted the experienced Super Falcons of Nigeria to get to this stage of the tournament.

That says a lot about the North Africans, though they only beat nine-woman Nigeria on penalties, and Banyana will have to be at their best to go past them. But Dlamini is confident in the team and she believes every player in the squad will give their all to make it a point that the Wafcon trophy comes to South Africa.

“We are all dreaming of winning the trophy. Every member of the squad wants that and for that to happen we have to fight for it. But I believe in the team.”