Banyana Banyana: Recapping 5 of South Africa’s Biggest Footballing Victories

• Banyana Banyana were beaten 5-0 by Botswana but have secured much bigger victories themselves in the past
• Coach, Desiree Ellis once scored a hat-trick as a player during Banyana's first-ever game in 1993
• Banyana broke a long-standing record previously held by Zimbabwe when they beat Comoros

Banyana Banyana are preparing to head off to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, hoping to make the continent proud.

The reigning WAFCON champions will leave the country on the back of a 5-0 defeat to Botswana, but that’s not what people should remember.

The defeat aside, they’ve also beaten sides by much bigger margins.

Sports Brief looks at Banyana’s five biggest victories before the upcoming World Cup.

Equatorial Guinea: 7-1

In 2018, the South African side thrashed Equatorial Guinea in the COSAFA Women’s Championship.

Thembi Kgatlana scored a brace that day as Banyana ran rampant, Times LIVE reported. South Africa went on to win the tournament, beating Cameroon in the final.

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Boxing

Mozambique: 7-0

Banyana’s most recent big win came in 2021 when they beat Mozambique 7-0.

The game was an African Women's Cup of Nations (AWCON) first-leg qualifier.

Linda Motlhalo and Gabriela Salgado scored braces in the seven-goal haul, but Desiree Ellis believes they could have scored a lot more, News24 reported.

Botswana: 10-0

Banyana may have lost 5-0 to Botswana, but the South African side beat their opposition by double the amount in 2014.

As noted by Soccer Laduma, Portia Modise scored five goals in that game. Modise scored two goals in the first half and then a further three in the second half of the game.

Swaziland: 14-0

Banyana’s first official game came in 1993, which also proved to be one of their biggest victories.

SAFA noted that South Africa secured an emphatic 14-0 win. Gaylene Peters, Bertha King, and Desiree Ellis all scored hat-tricks during the game. Ellis is now the coach of the national team.

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Football

Comoros: 17-0

Banyana’s biggest win came in 2019 when they thrashed Comoros 17-0.

As noted by News24, the margin of victory win set a new record in the COSAFA Women’s Championship. The previous record was when Zimbabwe beat Lesotho 15-0.