Ghana secured the bronze medal at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after edging past South Africa 4-3 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Friday.
The match served as a rematch of their earlier group stage encounter, which South Africa had won 2-0. This time, however, the Black Queens emerged victorious.
South Africa opened the scoring just before halftime through Nonhlanhla Mthandi, but Ghana equalized in the 68th minute after an own goal by goalkeeper Andile Dlamini.
In the resulting penalty shootout, Ghana converted four out of five spot-kicks, while South Africa missed two attempts.
The victory mirrors Ghana’s bronze medal win over Banyana Banyana in 2016 and highlights a remarkable comeback under new head coach Kim Björkegren, following their absence from the previous edition of the tournament.
Defending champions South Africa, despite a strong campaign, miss out on a podium finish. With this win, Ghana now lead the head-to-head record between the two sides with five victories to South Africa’s four.
The tournament concludes on Saturday, with hosts Morocco set to take on Nigeria in the final.