Thembi's brilliance in Banyana shirt

Sihle Ndebele Sports journalist
Thembi Kgatlana has been left out of the Wafcon squad.
Thembi Kgatlana has been left out of the Wafcon squad.
Image: Sydney Mahlangu

Thembi Kgatlana's unavailability due to “personal reasons” for the upcoming Wafcon could jeopardise Banyana Banyana's chances of defending their continental championship in Morocco.

Kgatlana has been one of Banyana's most influential players in recent times. In 2018, Kgatlana was voted as the African Women's Footballer of the Year. In the same year, she won the Wafcon Player of the Tournament after Banyana finished as runners-up to Nigeria in Ghana, where she also scooped the Golden Boot and Goal of the Tournament accolades. 

In the 2019 Fifa World Cup in France, the Mohlakeng-born star scored Banyana's only goal of the tournament, in the 3-1 thumping by Spain in group stages.

In the 2023 World Cup, Kgatlana, who boasts more than 80 goals in the Banyana shirt, played a crucial role in helping the team reach the knockout phase for the first time, scoring two goals before the Netherlands eliminated SA in the last 16 of the tournament co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

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