2018 Women's AFCON: 3 Lessons to learn from COSAFA 2018

“The players were exposed to so much pressure as the coach needed to trim the squad from 29 players to 21 players as per the requirements of the tournament. That, on its own heightened the pressure as the team members needed to prove that they are worthy of retainment.”

— Simiso Shabangu, FirstTouch Africa

When South Africa decided to call herself using the name of a region, the other countries in the Southern part of Africa then seemed to be invisible. Even those that know about this region easily associate it with Nelson Mandela.  Fortunately, the COSAFA Women’s Championship showed that Southern Africa has more incredible things to offer. This September, the tournament which is organised by the Council of Southern Africa Football Association gathered the 10 teams from Southern Africa. They also invited Uganda and Cameroon not miss out on what the South has to offer.

Our interest is beyond the wins that were accomplished here but it is deeply in the three lessons that we could derive from from the battle that these ladies fought on the field. Lessons difficult to ignore as the 2018 Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations looms.

1. In the modern day of GOATs, the old adage of teamwork prevails

Desiree Scott of Canada and Andisiwe Mgcoyi of South Africa contest for the ball during the Women's Football first round Group F Match of the London 2012 Olympic Games between Canada and South Africa, at City of Coventry Stadium on July 28, 2012 in Coventry, England.

(July 27, 2012 - Source: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images Europe)

The tournament reminded us that if anyone is to succeed in anything they do, they should leverage the strength of other people. This was a lesson that was echoed by winner of the player of the match award in the final, Kaylin Swart, who was quoted saying “I want to say thank you especially to the girls as we could not have done it without each other..and honestly, it is a team effort.” South Africa (Banyana Banyana) walked away from the tournament with the 2018 COSAFA title and they accredited that to the fact that they were willing to close the gap for each other and most importantly, were ready to accept each other’s lesser strengths which is basically what teamwork is about.

2.  Competition Brings Out the Best in You

Ideally, this tournament is meant for the Southern part of the region, but as mentioned two nations were brought in as guest nations. They were Cameroon and Uganda. These two teams outdid the Southern teams with Cameron making it to the finals while Uganda snatched the bronze medal. Had these teams not been here, countries like Zambia would have ended at a higher position. These guest nations came in for the competition, revealing to sides like She-polopolo of Zambia that that they still had something to work on. Sometimes we dislike competition but it is losing to teams like the Cameronian team that will enable Southern African  teams to work on their weaknesses in preparation of the 2018 Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

3. Status Cannot Substitute Hard Work

Andisiwe Mgcoyi attends the Team South Africa Training Session at Sportschule Hennef on July 11, 2012 in Hennef, Germany.

(July 10, 2012 - Source: Mathis Wienand/Getty Images Europe)

More than any other country, Banyana Banyana has won the Women’s COSAFA Cup a record, five times. They walked into the tourney as undisputable favorites also boasting of Olympic Games appearances. With such an impressive track record, one could think that South Africa should have rested and not worked as hard in the 2018 edition. However, ahead of the tournament, the Banyana Banyana coach called the team to a gruelling training camp in Johannesburg from the 5th to the 10th of September. The players were exposed to so much pressure as the coach needed to trim the squad from 29 players to 21 players as per the requirements of the tournament. That, on its own heightened the pressure as the team members needed to prove that they are worthy of retainment. The hard work invested into this tournament paid off for South Africa as they were able to defend the title. Surely, yesterday’s victories do not guarantee today’s victory if hard work is eliminated from the process.

Arsenal Ladies in shock goalless draw with Yeovil Town

The Arsenal Ladies team crumbled when it mattered the most. Just like their male counterparts, Arsenal have had difficulties to perform whenever the pressure is on them. The Arsenal Ladies who currently sit in 4th on the table had the opportunity to close the gap between them and Manchester City Women who are four points ahead. Instead, they drew their match against a Yeovil Town side that has been struggling and had lost all their last four matches in the league. The club were looking to get one over the 10th placed team who had enough wind in their sails had to stop Arsenal. This does not mean that they did not try though as they dominated the match with 55%. Their shots on goal were astonishingly high (34) compared to Yeovil’s 3 shots, but they still could not score. Arsenal Ladies are finalists in the Women’s FA Cup and should trade carefully if they want to qualify for next season’s champions league.

England Women win 2-0 against Bonsia Women

England are now in pole position to qualify for the 2019 World Cup in France. England boss Phil Neville, had enjoyed success in other competitions after signing on as the new boss but was patiently waiting for his first win in the World Cup qualifiers after last week’s draw. England dominated the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina Women. As they ended the match with 80% possession and had 21 shots in total as compared to Bosnia’s 20% possession and 1 shot in the whole match. These stats however did not work to the advantage of England in the first half as they failed to score. Greenwood picked up a second yellow card and was given marching orders on the 47th minute. England went on to score even with a player short as Tony Duggan who plays for Barcelona, converted Mel Lawley’s cross. This is her 20th goal in her international career. Bosnia also lost a player as their captain Amira Spahic was sent off on the 59th minute. Jodie Taylor scored the second from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 for England after Mead was brought down in the box. This win for England means that they have moved to the top of the group with a two point advantage ahead of Wales in Group A.

USA Women 4-2 Mexico Women

The USA team was on the front foot early on in the match as Mallory Pugh scored on the 3rd minute in an open net after she received a pass from the left by Megan Rapinoe which attracted the attention of the goalkeeper who left the goal empty. Mexico responded 9 minutes later through Monica Ocampo who scored from a difficult angle to make it 1-1. Monica Ocampo then turned provider for Kiana Palacios’ goal on the 25th minute. USA scored the second shortly after with Horan finishing off Rapinoe’s cross. 25 minutes down and there were 4 goals already. Who said that goals galore can only be seen in the men’s league only? The USA ladies learnt from their mistakes early on in the match of giving away the lead and adjusted their game in order to make sure they end the match with a win. Lloyd scored the third for USA and Morgan scored the fourth. The two teams went into the break with USA leading 4-2 and both teams made many changes in a bid to try and win the match. Rapinoe, who was the best player on the day scored USA’s fifth goal as she took a 35 yard shot that went in on the 64th minute. She also crossed in for Morgan to score again the 6th and final goal of the match. That was all for the match.

England Women vs Wales Women ends in a goalless draw

Phil Neville took over his first Qualifications tournament as the England boss and saw them draw against the leaders of the group. The two teams are vying for top spot in the World Cup qualifiers with only one team getting a guaranteed position at the 2019 World Cup Finals in France. Wales had the first attack of the match on the 8th minute as Rachel Rowe met the ball on the volley and Telford was there to parry the ball to safety. A minute later, the England defense was tested again from a corner kick and Lucy Bronze cleared the ball which looked like it had crossed the line. England had little in the match until Jordan Nobbs took a shot from 25 yards out. The ball looked destined for goal until Wales keeper, Laura O’Sullivan met it and pushed it onto the bar before it went out on the 33rd minute. The first half did not produce much after that and the teams went for a break at 0-0. Ellen Drive also tested the Wales goalkeeper on the 71st minute with a thunderous strike but the keeper was having none of it. Laura O’Sullivan was the clear man of the match with some fantastic saves to keep the Lionesses at bay.

Fishlock: England game not do or die

The 2019 Women’s World Cup qualifiers are around the corner and Wales are set to face England at St Mary’s Stadium on Friday, 6th of April, 2018. Wales are ranked 34th in the world rankings and are looking forward to using their underdog status to their advantage as they face the Lionesses. The fixture brings together two teams who are fighting for the top spot in the qualifiers with Wales lying top with 10 points and England just behind with 9 points having played a game less than the leaders.

Fishlock is quoted to having said, “This game is huge for us but it’s not do or die. We have four games to get where we want to get to and if we put everything into this game it might derail what we’ve got to do next.”

She said this after sensing the hype and atmosphere building up towards the match. She encourages her teammates not to get swirled up emotionally and lose focus in the match which is expected to bring a huge crowd. Fishlock has 108 caps for Wales already and is hopeful that her team will break the duck and finally qualify for a major tournament in the 2019 World Cup in France. Wales have not conceded yet in the qualifiers and are looking to get one over the English side that is ranked as the second-best team in the world. Friendships will be put on hold. Fishlock is desperate for Wales to qualify with her country such that she would trade all her individual accolades to do so if only she could. We hope this passion does not go to waste and that her teammates will help her dream come true.

Are we seeing a wave of many teams starting to take Women’s football as seriously as they should?

This report might come off as a surprise to many that Manchester United, one of the biggest football clubs, had not registered a Women’s team up to this point after scraping it altogether in 2005. However, that is out of the way now as the club have decided to register to join the Women’s League 2 in the upcoming season. This decision has probably resulted from continuous criticism from respected people in the footballing world with Former United player and current Lioness’ boss Phil Neville stating that he would have a conversation with them about it. Manchester United chairman Ed Woodward has said that “The Women’s side should be built with the same image as the male’s team.” If their application is successful, the women’s side will be based at the Cliff training ground in Salford. Besides this decision being long overdue, what are your thoughts?