Breaking: South Africa qualifies for round of 16 after beating Italy 3-2
The women’s national football team of South Africa, Banyana Banyana, on Wednesday morning booked a ticket for the Round of 16 after beating Italy 3-2 in the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Italy’s Arianna Caruso opened the scoreline in the 11th minute via a penalty to put her country in front before the game leveled 1-1 after a devastating error from the European team which saw Benedetta Orsi scoring a own goal in the 32nd minute.
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South Africa returned for the second half with more zest as Hildah Magaia’s 67th minute goal put them in the lead but the lead was levelled after Italy’s first goal scorer, Caruso got her brace in the 74th minute.
South Africa continued with the pressure on the European team who needed just a draw to scale through but Thembi Kgatlana’s fantastic effort who found the back of the net in the 90+2 minutes in added on time gave the African team the needed victory.
Wednesday’s victory for the Banyana Banyana see them finishing the Group G stage second with four points while Sweden tops with nine points after three resounding victories.
South Africa joins the Super Falcons of Nigeria as the continent’s representatives in the Round of 16.