Ivory Coast, South Africa reach WAFCON quarters

Ivory Coast finished top of Group B at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with seven points, while South Africa secured the second quarter-final spot with four points.

Ivory Coast opened its campaign with a 4-1 victory over Burkina Faso, with goals coming from three different players. They followed up with a 2-2 draw against South Africa, a match that saw the Ivorians take the lead twice before being pegged back. In their final group match, Ivory Coast beat Tanzania 2-1 to seal top spot with seven points from three matches.

South Africa, who lost their opener 2-1 to Tanzania, recovered with a 2-2 draw against Ivory Coast before beating Burkina Faso 1-0 to finish second with four points. The result was enough to secure their place in the knockout stage for the fourth consecutive WAFCON tournament.

Burkina Faso and Tanzania each finished with three points but were eliminated on goal difference. Burkina Faso had defeated Tanzania 2-1 in their final match, but the result was not enough to overtake South Africa.

The final Group B standings: Ivory Coast (7 points, goal difference +3), South Africa (4 points, 0), Burkina Faso (3 points, -2), Tanzania (3 points, -1).

In the quarter-finals on Saturday, August 8, Ivory Coast will face Group A runners-up Algeria in Casablanca. South Africa will travel to Rabat for a match against host Morocco in a repeat of the 2022 WAFCON final, which South Africa won 1-0 to claim their first continental title.

Morocco, the 2022 runners-up, finished top of Group A with seven points, while Algeria finished second with six points.

Source: MRA