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After countless efforts, South Africa finally qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time after defeating Mali 2-0 in their clash in the semi-final on Tuesday in Cape Coast.
Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana and Lebohang Ramalepe scored in both halves, while Banyana Banyana set a definite date with Nigeria, her eternal rival, on Saturday in Accra. The Nigerians, who had already beaten Cameroon, beat Cameroon 4-2 on penalties in the other semi-final match in Accra.
This is the fourth time that South Africa has qualified for the final of the flagship women's competition. And Desiree Ellis and her team will look to make history by winning the final victory after qualifying for the World Cup.
In their last three appearances, South Africa lost to Nigeria in 2000, before suffering defeats against Equatorial Guinea in 2008 and four years later.
Banyana captain Janine van Wyk was the first to threaten Mali's goal with a long-range free-kick in the opening minutes. This was not a problem for the Malian keeper.
In 31 minutes, Kgatlana opened the door after taking advantage of a poor pbad from the Malian defender to bring in the opening of the match and his fifth of the tournament.
The South Africans kept control of the match but had to wait until the 81st minute to be certain of the victory after Ramalepe beat the Malian shot blocker Adoudou Konaté.
At the same time, Cameroon will face Mali in Friday's Cape Coast third-place match, which will also determine the last African representative for the FIFA Women's World Cup in France next year.
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