WAFCON 2024 Quarterfinals Preview: South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria & Zambia Headline
Africa's premier women's football tournament heats up with a final-worthy berth between Nigeria and Zambia, the knockout phase debut of Algeria, and other contenders looking to advance.

South Africa remains one of the favorites to win WAFCON 2024, after a strong start that includes two wins, a draw, and seven goals scored.
The stakes have been raised at the ongoing Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON), as the competition enters its knockout stages this weekend. Four of the initial twelve teams have been eliminated, following a competitive round of matches in the group stage that produced an average of two-and-a-half goals per match.
Only one of the eight teams in the quarterfinals has never made it to this stage of the tournament: Algeria put up a resolute fight to make it past the group stage for the first time ever, winning Botswana by a lone goal in its only win so far, while forcing goalless draws in the other two matches. Six of the other seven teams have advanced to the final four of the competition, with Senegal hoping to move at least one step from their last WAFCON outing.
Below are brief primers for all four quarterfinal matches.
Nigeria vs Zambia (July 18, 6 PM GMT)
A rematch of last edition’s third-place match, the quarterfinal between Nigeria and Zambia will be a battle of wills. Nigeria’s Super Falcons are one of two teams that haven’t conceded a goal at WAFCON 2024, while the Copper Queens boast two of the most prolific strikers in African women’s football, Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji – both have scored three goals each already.
Nigeria qualified at the top of its group, as expected, and will aim to leverage its defensive solidity and cohesion to get into the final four. Zambia came second in Group A after scoring one goal less than hosts Morocco. Still, they’ve already distinguished themselves as top-tier contenders and will be keen on beating out an opponent they edged out back in 2022.
Morocco vs Mali (July 18, 9 PM GMT)
Hosts Morocco played through the group stage with a mix of poise, force, and discipline, earning the top spot in its group. The Atlas Lionesses are led by joint top scorer Ghizlane Chebbak, who has already scored four goals, one more than her total tally at the last WAFCON, where she was joint top scorer and voted the competition’s best player. Chebbak, like her team, has only improved in the years since, and Morocco will be the favorites to advance.
However, Mali will be looking to cause an upset, following a disappointing end to its group stage run. The female eagles were overrun 4-0 by South Africa, a result that dropped the Female Eagles to third in their group. In their first two matches, though, they showed toughness, earning a lone goal win against Tanzania and coming back to secure a 1-1 draw against Ghana. Facing the hosts and perhaps tournament favorites will be an uphill battle; expect Mali not to back down from the challenge.
Algeria vs Ghana (July 19, 6 PM GMT)
Although they only scored one goal in all three group stage matches, Algeria’s Fennecs have made scoring against them as hard as a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Meanwhile, the Black Queens of Ghana finally found the scoring punch in their final group stage game, putting four goals past Tanzania.
The contrasts between the two sides could play a key role, also taking into account their incredibly differing histories: this is Algeria’s quarterfinals debut, while the Black Queens have been WAFCON runners-up on three different occasions but haven’t reached the semifinals since 2016. One country will be looking to fight through novelty, while the other will want to reassert its slipping mettle as a force in African women’s football.
South Africa vs Senegal (July 19, 9 PM GMT)
Defending champions South Africa were on the verge of a flawless group stage run, having won two matches and drawn the other. All seven goals were scored by seven different players, encapsulating the collective attacking threat of Bayana Banyana. However, their defense will have to account for Nguenar Ndiaye, the Senegalese striker who has already scored four goals at WAFCON 2024. For the Teranga Lionesses to pull off a great upset, Ndiaye will most likely need to be at her best against a defense that has conceded one goal, while Senegal’s defense must keep a muzzle on the multitude of weapons South Africa has in its ranks.
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