{"id":17411,"date":"2025-07-22T11:40:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T09:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=17411"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:12:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:12:44","slug":"banyanas-salgado-urges-team-to-rise-like-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/banyanas-salgado-urges-team-to-rise-like-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Bring the Cup Home\u2019: Banyana Banyana&#8217;s Salgado Urges Team to Rise Like Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As the countdown begins for a high-stakes Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) semifinal showdown, Banyana Banyana star Gabriela Salgado has issued a stirring rallying cry. She believes it\u2019s time for the national team to step up and prove they are the undisputed queens of African football when they lock horns with arch-rivals Nigeria on Tuesday in Casablanca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-banyana-banyana-vs-nigeria-a-battle-of-titans\">Banyana Banyana vs Nigeria: A Battle of Titans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While Nigeria boasts an unrivalled legacy in WAFCON history with a staggering nine titles, it\u2019s Banyana who come into this fixture with a more impressive recent track record. The South African side has toppled the Super Falcons in two of their last three encounters at the tournament, and they are hungry for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Salgado, who missed the previous tournament through injury, is determined to play her part this time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are the reigning champions, and we have to show that by how we play,\u201d said Salgado, as anticipation builds for the semifinal clash at Larbi Zaouli Stadium. \u201cThe whole country is behind us\u2014our families, our supporters. Now it\u2019s about believing in ourselves and each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8MATCH DAY\ud83d\udea8<br><br>CAF Women&#39;s Africa Cup of Nations <br> <br>Semifinals<br><br>\u26bd\ufe0f  South Africa \ud83c\uddff\ud83c\udde6 vs \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec Nigeria<br>\ud83d\uddd3 22 July 2025<br>\u23f0\ufe0f 18h00 (SA time)<br>\ud83c\udfdf Larbi Zaouli Stadium<br>\ud83d\udcfa SABC Sport<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LiveTheImpossible?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#LiveTheImpossible<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qjNfdSqAlZ\">pic.twitter.com\/qjNfdSqAlZ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Banyana_Banyana\/status\/1947563226763300967?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July 22, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2402426411\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-aiming-for-back-to-back-glory\">Aiming for Back-to-Back Glory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Banyana made history three years ago when they clinched their first-ever WAFCON title, dispatching Nigeria in the group stage and beating host nation Morocco in the final. Now they are chasing back-to-back triumphs, a feat that would cement their position as a new powerhouse in women\u2019s football on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Salgado is confident<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/local-soccer\/banyana-salgado-must-play-like-champions-we-are\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> the team <\/a>has what it takes to go all the way again. \u201cGetting to the final would be unbelievable, especially for me on a personal level after missing the last one. But what matters most is doing it for the team and the people who support us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She emphasised the importance of seizing every opportunity that comes their way. \u201cWe must take our chances. This game is about capitalising when it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-squad-united-in-purpose\">A Squad United in Purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While Salgado dreams of her own moment on the big stage, she is quick to shift focus back to the collective strength of the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy teammates are phenomenal. We lift each other up; that\u2019s what makes us stronger. In women\u2019s football, there\u2019s a real sense of unity and celebration when one of us achieves something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That camaraderie and spirit could prove to be a decisive factor as Banyana aim to outclass a Nigerian team with a wealth of experience. \u201cWe are ready. We\u2019ve prepared, and we know what we have to do,\u201d Salgado insisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-3447255128\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-all-eyes-on-casablanca\">All Eyes on Casablanca<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With a spot in the final and a possible second title within touching distance, Banyana know the stakes couldn\u2019t be higher. But if their recent form is anything to go by, the Super Falcons will be in for a tough evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Salgado and her teammates, bringing the cup home isn\u2019t just about silverware; it\u2019s about pride, resilience, and inspiring the next generation of footballers in our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/banyana-banyana-ready-for-wafcon-2025-in-morocco\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Banyana Banyana Ready to Defend WAFCON Crown in Morocco<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the countdown begins for a high-stakes Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) semifinal showdown, Banyana Banyana star Gabriela Salgado has issued a stirring rallying cry. She believes it\u2019s time for the national team to step up and prove they are the undisputed queens of African football when they lock horns with arch-rivals Nigeria on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":17418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"As the countdown begins for a high-stakes Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) semifinal showdown, Banyana Banyana star Gabriela Salgado has issued a...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[289,2593,288,2594],"class_list":{"0":"post-17411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-african-football","10":"tag-banyana-banyana","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-wafcon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17422,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17411\/revisions\/17422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}