Banyana v Tanzania WAFCON Predictions

The defending African champions cruised to a 2-0 win over Ghana in their opening Group game during the week. But they will be looking to build on that and secure their place in the next round.

Most importantly, they’ll want to win the group, as that (on paper) gives them an “easier” draw in the Round of 16. We preview their next Group C game:

Key stats:

• Banyana have lost just one of their last 12 Group games at WAFCON (W8 D3 L1)
• Banyana have won their last three previous games against Tanzania
• Tanzania are only in their second appearance at the WAFCON finals

Banyana aim for 100% start

At the time of writing, only one team at the tournament has played more than one game and maintains a 100% win rate. That honour goes to Banyana’s arch-rivals in this competition, Nigeria, but our girls can join them with a win tonight. In the last two tournament editions, Banyana have picked up six points from their opening two games and secured progress to the next round with a game to spare. This can be crucial, as it allows Coach Desiree Ellis a chance to rotate players in the third game, resting key players and keeping the backups tournament-fit.

Head-to-head

Based on the odds, Banyana are given a win probability of 52%, which is more than twice that of their opponents (23%). Much of this likely stems from both historical context and current form. The teams have met three times in the last 10 years, with Banyana winning all three, starting with a 6-1 win in 2014. The last two meetings came in a two-legged tie just over a year ago, in the COSAFA Olympics qualifiers. Banyana cruised to a 3-0 win away from home before securing a 1-0 home win. This is Banyana’s ninth game of the year, and they have won every game in 2025, keeping clean sheets in six of the eight games.  The Tanzanians lost 1-0 in their opener, so they will be under pressure to get a good result here. They have lost two in a row if you include their final friendly match against Morocco just before the tournament started. Hopefully, that desperation opens spaces up at the back for Banyana to exploit.

Key Players

Clara Luvanga and Opah Clement have been identified as the biggest attacking threats for the Twiga Stars by Coach Desire Ellis. But she is confident that her game plan to stop them may work. Jermaine Seoposenwe scored in the Olympics qualifiers against Tanzania last year, and also found the net in the opening game at WAFCON. She’ll be keen to add to that tally and edge closer to Veronica Phwewa’s all-time WAFCON record of 9 goals for Banya. Jermaine needs just three more goals to equal the record, and four to set a new one. Besides her, Banyana’s attacking structure was a bit disjointed in the first game, so a bit more rhythm will be what Coach Ellis is concerned about, beyond individual performances.

Team to win: Banyana to win (at 1.8)

Other markets: Over 2.5 goals in the game (at 1.7)

Value Bet: Over 1.5 goals in the first half (at 2.4)