Two Banyana Players Named In The Best XI Of WAFCON Group Stages

CAF has released the Best XI of the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) following the completion of the tournament’s group phase with a good sprinkling of African countries included in the tournament’s top performers. Players from seven countries have made the list of the of WAFCON Best XI as selected by members of CAF’s Technical Study Group (TSG) after the first round.

South Africa’s consistent goalkeeper Andile Dlamini has been selected as the tournament’s leading goalkeeper so far with a defence anchored by Nigeria’s Osinachi Ohale and Zambia’s Lushomo Mweemba with wingbacks in Tunisia’s Samia Aouni and Morocco’s Zineb Redouan completing the defence.

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Morocco’s inspirational captain Ghizlane Chebbak is the leading goal scorer at the tournament with three goals to date and she and the classy South African captain from AC Milan Jane Refiloe make up a formidable midfield combination in the heart of the pitch. Nigeria’s fantastic Rasheedat Ajibade marauds down the wing with Cameroon’s Ajara Nchout on the other flank providing plenty of firepower down the other flank.

Botswana’s Refilwe Tholakele gets the nod for the striker’s spot highest up on the pitch in tandem with the impressive attacking qualities of Zambia’s Grace Chanda just behind her in what is a formidable tournament Best XI to date.

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As the tournament reaches its business end, these players will be crucial in needing to step up as their countries look to secure a coveted FIFA Women’s World Cup in their quarterfinal fixtures.

The TSG is comprised of Clementine Toure (Cote d’Ivoire head coach), Radia Fertoul (Algeria head coach), Jacqui Shipanga (Namibia Technical Director), Shilene Booysen (South Sudan head coach), Mercy Tagoe (Ghana head coach) and Amani Boukare (Tunisia U20 head coach and senior team assistant coach).

2022 WAFCON Group Stage Best XI:

Goalkeeper– Andile Dlamini (South Africa);

Defenders – Zineb Redouan (Morocco); Lushomo Mweemba (Zambia); Osinachi Ohale (Nigeria) and Samia Aouni (Tunisia)

Midfielders – Refiloe Jane(South Africa), Grace Chanda (Zambia) and Ghizlane Chebbak (Morocco)

Forwards – Rasheedat Ajibade (Nigeria); Ajara Nchout(Cameroon) and Refilwe Tholakele (Botswana).

And lastly, thanks to her managerial masterclass thus far, Coach Desiree Ellis was named the Best Coach of the Group Stage.