Nigeria begins its Women's AFCON on Monday. The Super Falcons will have the opportunity to continue their domination of women's football on the continent. They will face South Africa, another giant. The other game on Monday will pit Botswana against Burundi.
Nigeria vs South Africa: Settling of scores in Rabat
The history of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations can be summed up in one nation: Nigeria. The Super Falcons have already won the African Cup of Nations 10 times in its 12th edition. The Nigerian women are the scarecrow in Group C.
For their first match in this AFCON, Nigeria will cross swords with South Africa. The two nations know each other well, having met three times in the final. Even if the Super Falcons have always won, including the last time in 2018, the South Africans do not want to be inhibited by this history. Especially since South Africa beat Nigeria 4-2 in the Aisha Buhari Cup in 2021.
The team has changed a lot in the last two years, so we couldn't invite players from abroad," said Andile Dlamini. We had to use the players who play in South Africa. We have a good mix of youth and experience. We're going to do everything we can to play at our own pace: put the ball on the floor. And as we have already shown in 2018 what we are capable of doing, football doesn't care about history, we have to focus on the field. We have to do everything to dictate our plan, we know we have to go beyond our level but it will be tough."
Burundi vs Botswana, duel of novices
While Nigeria and South Africa are a clash of two teams who have never missed out on the Africa Cup of Nations, the reality is quite different for the second game in Group C. Burundi and Botswana will be playing in their first African Cup this year.
Botswana have players like Simba Asha Djafari and Joelle Bukuru. In addition, they were finalists in the 2020 COSAFA Cup. Burundi is 169th in the FIFA rankings. The face-off between the two teams will go down in the annals of the Women's Cup of Nations, regardless of the result.
Schedule of the day
GROUP C
5pm Nigeria-South Africa
8pm Burundi-Botswana
