2023-07-19 13:11:23
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Ghizlane Chebbak, Refiloe Jane, Asisat Oshoala and Barbra Banda are the Africans to watch at the Women’s World Cup
Article informationAuthor, Alasdair HowarthRole, Football Journalist
45 minutes ago
The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off on July 20, when the two co-hosts – Australia and New Zealand – play their first match.
For the first time, Africa will field four teams in the finals, following Fifa expanded the tournament from 24 to 32 teams.
Reigning continental champions South Africa will be joined by Nigeria, who have nine African titles, and Morocco and Zambia, who are making their World Cup debuts, at the month-long tournament. will end on August 20.
With a competition approaching where Africa has yet to break through the quarter-final barrier, BBC Sport Africa profiles four key players for the continent’s representatives.
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Asisat Oshoala has been one of FC Barcelona’s leading figures in recent years, surpassing 20 goals in each of the past four seasons
Asisat Oshoala – Nigeria
There is no more important player in African women’s football than Oshoala – and for good reason.
Having exploded onto the international scene in 2014, when she was top scorer and best player at the Under-20 World Cup, Oshoala has always been one of the best players on the continent.
She has won three Women’s Africa Cups of Nations (Wafcon) and was voted best player of the tournament in two of them. She also scored at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
If she scores at this edition, she will become the first African to score at three Women’s World Cups and might well add a record sixth African Player of the Year title to her ever-growing list. .
The FC Barcelona star arrives at the World Cup following a fourth consecutive season with more than 20 goals and a second year in a row as the reigning European champions’ top scorer.
At the best of times, very few defenders can cope with Oshoala, as she is an all-around attacker capable of dominating with her strength and speed, but it is her clever movement, both on and off the ball, that makes her stand out.
Absent from Wafcon last year with a knee injury picked up in the opening game, she missed the Champions League final last May with a hamstring injury in the Barca’s win over Wolfsburg, and the Nigerians hope she stays fit.
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Barbra Banda – Zambia
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After missing Wafcon 2022 due to a gender eligibility issue, Banda bounced back by scoring 10 goals in five appearances for Zambia.
Another Wafcon absentee, Banda, 23, is one of Africa’s most exciting talents.
The striker shocked the world in 2021 by scoring back-to-back hat-tricks at the Olympics – the first player to do so in the event’s long history – before Zambia were eliminated in the group stage.
Despite the setback, captain Banda showed impressive leadership and stayed in Morocco to lead her side to a historic third place from the sidelines.
Luckily for Banda and Zambia, she has since been given the green light to play and has come back with disconcerting ease, scoring 10 goals in five appearances in September’s Cosafa Cup.
As a debutant, Zambia will likely play defense and counterattack. With Banda, whose lightning speed can make central defenders bite the dust, she has one of the best players in the discipline to play on the counter-attack.
Combined with Racheal Kundananji, who scored 25 goals in the Spanish Premier League last season, the duo might form one of Australia and New Zealand’s deadliest attacks.
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Refiloe Jane holds up the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations alongside Janine van Wyk
Refiloe Jane – South Africa
Jane is perhaps the most low-key player on this list, but arguably the most important to her team, as this petite midfielder is the pulse of the African champions.
At the heart of the football practiced by coach Desiree Ellis, Jane is a depth playmaker for the Banyana Banyana.
Positioned in front of the defence, she has a formidable range of passes and controls the tempo of matches from deep, allowing South African forwards to flourish.
Having made her competitive debut at the 2012 Olympics, Jane has appeared in every major South African tournament since then, racking up over 100 caps.
Last year, she became the team’s co-captain alongside longtime captain Janine van Wyk, leading the team to their first Wafcon title once morest Morocco, but will now be the sole captain, Van Wyk being hurt.
Jane will return to Australia, where she signed her first professional contract with W League club Canberra United in 2019, before moving to Italy where she now plays for Sassuolo (following a spell at Milan).
Although unlikely to score many goals or make headlines, Jane will be a key hope for South Africa, who will be taking part in the tournament for the second time.
Ghizlane Chebbak – Maroc
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Captain Ghizlane Chebbak led Morocco to the historic 2022 World Cup final, helping to qualify for the World Cup.
While South Africa and Nigeria grabbed the headlines at last year’s Wafcon, hosts Morocco truly surprised the world by reaching their first final, starring Ghizlane Chebbak.
Daughter of former international Larbi Chebbak, winner of the Nations Cup in 1976, Ghizlane captained the Atlas Lionesses in their first appearance in the tournament for 20 years, which allowed them to qualify for the first time for the World Cup.
Chebbak finished the Wafcon as both the tournament’s top scorer and player.
Although she is a midfielder, Chebbak is a natural goalscorer. Already top scorer in her country, she has just spent her fifth season at the top of the scoring charts in the Moroccan first division, where she won ten consecutive titles with AS FAR.
In November, she led the club to their first African league title, beating defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns in the final.
Chebbak is also an excellent set piece specialist. Whether it’s a free kick, a corner or a penalty, she rarely gets it wrong, which might prove invaluable for beginners.
Often used as a number 10 or in a midfield three, Chebbak is the hub of creativity for the Atlas Lionesses, because everything goes through her.
If she is not very fast, she shines with her technique and her decisions in the last third of the field.
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