- Tanzania eliminated Ivory Coast
- Uganda were beaten on aggregate by Algeria
- Rwanda were thrashed 5-0 by Ghana
There were mixed results for East African teams in the run up to the final qualification round of the 2024 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, with Tanzania managing a massive comeback to eliminate Ivory Coast on penalties while Uganda and Rwanda both faltered.
In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s Twiga Stars were over the moon after eliminating Ivory Coast. The Twiga Stars beat the Ivorians 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate draw.
Tanzania had lost the first leg 2-0, but bounced back to win the return fixture 2-0 in Dar es Salaam and force the game to penalties.
Head coach Bakari Shime was elated with the performance of his girls and said they gave in a good fight.
“I want to congratulate the players for playing to instruction and fighting to the last minute. We wanted to ensure we don’t concede and score goals. In the second half, we really put in a good fight and the determination was really great. We had to insist to them that we needed to keep persisting and we would get a reward,” Shime said.
He added; “We have grown as a team and eliminating a tea like Ivory Coast is huge for us. Now we are focusing in the next round and hopefully we can qualify.”
Tanzania score twice in four minutes
In regular time, Tanzania gave a massive fight and after struggling in the first half, ensured the work paid off in the second half. Deonisia Minja gave them the lead five minutes after the break with a brilliant curling freekick from the right.
They doubled their tally to tie the game on aggregate just two minutes later, Opa Clement scoring after the Ivorian defense failed to clear a freekick.
Tanzania will now take on Togo in the final qualification round, after the latter thrashed Djibouti 13-0 on aggregate. They won the first leg 7-0 and the second 6-0.
In Oran, Algeria, Uganda’s Crested Cranes’ hopes of making a second consecutive appearance at the WAFCON were dashed after bowing out at the hands of Algeria. The Cranes held the Algerians to a 1-1 draw in Algiers, but they lost out 3-2 on aggregate having suffered a 2-1 defeat at home in the first leg.
In the game played at Stade Olympic D’Oran, the hosts took the lead through Naima Bouhani in the 3rd minute, a score that took the aggregate result to 3-1 and a mountain to climb for Uganda.
However, they kept fighting, knowing two goals would be enough to put the game evenly poised.
Improved in the second half
In the second half they improved their fight and they found themselves tied at 1-1 after 66 minutes when Fauzia Najjemba scored the equalizer, converting from the spot after she was fouled in the box.
“We gave in a fight and the girls really worked hard to try and get back into the match but we came short. We have picked the lessons and hopefully we come back stronger next time,” said Ayub Kiyingi, the Crested Cranes head coach.
Meanwhile, Ghana made a statement victory in the qualifiers, with a five-star performance that has seen them sail into the second round with a 5-0 thrashing of Rwanda.
The Black Queens went through 9-0 on aggregate, having won the first leg 4-0 away from home.
Head coach Norah Hauptle was delighted with the performance of her girls, but insists there is still some more work to do for the team heading into the next round.
Worked on our performance
“We have worked well on our performance and if we put in a good one, the results follow. There are plenty of things to work on still but we are delighted that we have made the next round. We are very hungry and always want to develop and improve our performances,” said the Ghana coach Hauptle.
She adds; “We put in a good game with a very good first half performance. I am satisfied but still there is some work to do”
In the return tie, Alice Kusi put on a woman of the match performance, scoring a brilliant hattrick with Evelyn Badu and Stella Nyamekye adding one a piece.
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