South Africa's must-win WAFCON clash against Ivory Coast: The facts and stats

[p]A shock [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/south-africa-23FeDl3D/tanzania-p2wIs1Ae/?mid=EqI95beB"]2-1[/a] defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tanzania/p2wIs1Ae/"]Tanzania[/a] in their pool opener has put Des Eliis’ side under immediate pressure and they can afford no more slip-ups with only the top two in the pool advancing to the quarter-finals.[/p][p]The Ivorians trounced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/burkina-faso/U96KCev4/"]Burkina Faso[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/burkina-faso-U96KCev4/ivory-coast-2iLuzkms/?mid=8pzrmjup"]4-1[/a] in their first game, but if Bafana can get a win here, they will fancy defeating the Burkinabe and getting their campaign back on track with a place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup also up for grabs. [/p][p]The four semi-finalists in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/morocco/IButJ9mf/"]Morocco[/a] automatically book their tickets, while the losing teams in the last 8 play-off for two berths in the inter-continental qualifiers. [/p][p]A group stage exit would be a disaster for Banyana Banyana, who last failed to get out of their pool in 2004, one of two occasions in their 13 previous visits to the continental qualifiers.[/p][embed guid="0d511978-294c-4173-ad43-041e54ae8054" url="https://x.com/Banyana_Banyana/status/2082491365594747314?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Banyana are unbeaten in their last seven WAFCON group matches against West African teams, recording six wins and a draw since a 2-1 loss to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nigeria/KbvGP3KC/"]Nigeria[/a] in their second fixture at the 2010 tournament.[/p][p]That sequence includes 4-0 victories over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mali/GW2cxMwh/"]Mali[/a] in 2010 and 2024, wins against Nigeria in 2018 and 2022, a 1-0 success against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/senegal/EROqZ82m/"]Senegal[/a] in 2012 and victory by the same scoreline over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ghana/fTSIFW3l/"]Ghana[/a] at the 2024 edition. Their only failure to win during that run was a 1-1 draw with Ghana in 2014.[/p][p]Their more recent overall record against West African sides is less impressive, however, with no victory in their last three such matches in open play.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-africa/23FeDl3D/"]South Africa[/a] defeated Senegal on penalties in the quarter-finals at the previous edition before losing to Nigeria in the semi-finals and being beaten by Ghana in a shootout in the third-place play-off.[/p][p]They will be seeking a response after their nine-game unbeaten run in the WAFCON group stage, which included eight wins and a draw, was ended by the defeat to Tanzania in their tournament opener.[/p][embed guid="7042b7c6-344c-4307-80f3-e78d88352ef7" url="https://x.com/Banyana_Banyana/status/2082223932791235023?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]It was South Africa’s first group-stage loss since they went down 1-0 to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cameroon/GjLfzCAQ/"]Cameroon[/a] in their second game at the 2016 finals and only their second in 13 group matches under coach Ellis, whose record now stands at eight wins, three draws and two defeats.[/p][p]On the four previous occasions South Africa lost their opening group game, in 1998, 2004, 2012 and 2014, they managed to win their second fixture only once, against Senegal in 2012.[/p][p]Their overall record in second group matches reads six wins, three draws and four defeats from 13 games.[/p][p]South Africa have scored in each of their last 11 WAFCON group fixtures. The last time they failed to find the net at this stage was in the defeat to Cameroon in 2016.[/p][p]They were also not short of opportunities against Tanzania, registering 24 attempts at goal. Nine of South Africa’s efforts were on target, with skipper Refiloe Jane testing the goalkeeper three times, more than any other player.[/p][p]They will look to get forward Thembi Kgatlana more into the game this time round. [/p][embed guid="85ada694-85f5-431e-b288-2916304ecfc9" url="https://x.com/Banyana_Banyana/status/2082223119201112442?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ivory-coast/2iLuzkms/"]Ivory Coast[/a] will provide another stern challenge as they attempt to win successive WAFCON matches for the first time.[/p][p]The Ivorians have never previously completed their opening two games without defeat. They followed a victory in their opening match in 2012 with a loss in their second, while their first-game defeat in 2014 was followed by a win.[/p][p]They have scored in all nine of their matches at the finals but have also conceded in seven, keeping only two clean sheets. Those came in a 5-0 victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ethiopia/tCmhiRId/"]Ethiopia[/a] in 2012 and a 1-0 success against South Africa in the third-place play-off two years later.[/p][p]Friday’s encounter will be Ivory Coast’s fourth WAFCON match against Southern African opponents and they have yet to taste defeat. They beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/namibia/O6oWzKNA/"]Namibia[/a] 3-1 and drew 1-1 with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/zambia/rmKdcHAi/"]Zambia[/a] in the 2014 group stage before edging South Africa in the bronze-medal match.[/p]