WAFCON: Burkina Faso edge 10-woman Tanzania 2-1

Tanzania’s national women’s team Twiga Stars, suffered a setback in their second Africa Women Cup of Nations (WAFCON) group fixture following a 2-1 defeat to Burkina Faso on Friday at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco.

The loss put pressure on the East African giants to win their final preliminary match to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

Burkina Faso took the lead in the 42nd minute through Liaoning FC forward Naomie Kabre, capitalizing on a first half largely dominated by the West Africans.

Tanzania had an early opportunity to open the scoring in the seventh minute, but Oppah Clement Tukumbuke shot wide.

Two minutes later, Burkina Faso threatened from a Diamilatou Zongo free-kick, but Tanzanian goalkeeper Najiat Abass Idrisa comfortably made the save.

Burkina Faso went into the break leading 1-0, and Tanzania’s hopes took a further hit in the 56th minute when Madrid CFF forward Hasnath Ubamba received a straight red card for a dangerous tackle.

Despite being down to ten players, Simba Queens striker Aisha Mnuka leveled the score for Tanzania in the 62nd minute. However, Burkina Faso skipper Balkissa Sawadogo struck the decisive goal in the 80th minute to secure all three points for her side.

The result left Tanzania second in Group B with three points—level with Burkina Faso—while South Africa sit at the bottom with one point.

Ivory Coast lead the group with four points following their 2-2 draw with South Africa at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat.

Despite the setback, Tanzania head coach Bakari Shime commended his squad's resilience.

"I want to congratulate my players for a good display despite the loss. They played well; we just failed to utilize the chances we created. The red card shown to Hasnath Ubamba derailed our momentum and allowed our opponents to press us. We have identified our mistakes and will work on them ahead of our final match against Ivory Coast on August 4."

Tanzania will face Ivory Coast in their final Group B fixture on August 4 at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium, while Burkina Faso takes on South Africa at the Moulay Rachid Stadium.

Group C action continues on Saturday with Malawi facing Egypt at the Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat, followed by Zambia taking on Nigeria at the Al Madina Stadium.