LAGOS JULY 24TH (NEWSRNAGERS)-A lot can happen in 24 hours. And such is life. For South African defender Gabriela Salgado, the semifinal between the reigning African champions Banyana Banyana and nine-time continental winners at the ongoing TotalEnergies WAFCON 2024 was an exciting opportunity for her to showcase her expertise.
On Monday, July 21, Salgado had showed up for the pre-match press conference in high spirits, answered every question asked by the South African, Nigerian and international media at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca.
Her vibrant energy was felt throughout the packed press conference room ahead of what has been established as the biggest rivalry in Women’s Football in Africa. She spoke with excitement and promised to make South Africa proud. She continuously spoke with positivity pointing at her teammates’ togetherness throughout the tournament and what it means for her to finally feature at Africa’s biggest showpiece.
The 28-year-old, who features for JVW in the South African topflight league, had previously missed out on representing her nation at the WAFCON 2022 in Morocco after she sustained an almost career-ending injury in the week leading up to the tournament.
Her presence at the current edition where she started on the bench for Banyana Banyana in their opening two games before earning her spot in the starting lineup speaks to her resilience and never-give-up attitude.
“We know we’re going into the semifinal game, it’s going to be a challenge, but we are physically and mentally prepared. We know the responsibility we hold, and we just look forward to a good game and hopefully finishing it within the 90 minutes,” Salgado had said prior to the match.
Until Salgado’s injury, the tie was at 1-1 after an Ajibade penalty opened the scoring for Nigeria before South Africa equalized through a Linda Motlhalo penalty.
“Every game that we play we take our lessons, and we obviously take it into the next game and improving what we learned from that game. Just going into this game, I think the Senegal game of course brought us together as a team, we saw the desire, the hunger in each other’s eyes and it brought us just closer together knowing how we’ll need each other going into the next game. I think the team is prepared, we’re ready, we know what we have to do, and I think everyone is just on the same page and we are excited for the game.”
This excitement could be seen when Salgado and her teammates stepped off the bus and sang their way to the away dressing room – full of energy and ready to face the mountain in front of them that was Nigeria. But as fate would have it, Salgado suffered a horrific injury.
The reaction of both sets of players alerted those watching the game inside the Larbi Zaouli Stadium and across the world. Hands on their heads, some in tears, others with their heads to the grass and some took to the technical benches for comfort.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) has released a statement with the Banyana Banyana doctor Lindi Mokoena saying, “Gabi [Salgado] sustained a fracture of the mid-shaft of her left leg during the fixture against Nigeria and underwent a successful surgery at the Mohamed VI University Hospital in Casablanca. She will be out of action for the rest of the year, but we are pleased that she received exceptional care from the medical team of Banyana Banyana, CAF and the hospital. We were fully confident and comfortable with the procedure being performed in Morocco and would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to CAF and the dedicated staff at the Mohamed VI University Hospital for their professionalism and outstanding support during this time.”
Ramaphosa Message of Support
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sent a message of support to Salgado saying, “Today, our thoughts are with Banyana Banyana’s @G_Salgado9 as we wish Gabriela a comfortable and speedy recovery from her traumatic injury in last night’s WAFCON semi-final against a victorious Nigeria. I know you’re a woman of deep and public faith, Gabriela, and you’re a woman of bravery and skill on the pitch. The nation wishes you well. Casablanca was always going to be a tough ask for our national team as Africa’s defending champions and Nigeria’s breakthrough in referee’s optional proved this. We are confident Banyana Banyana will regroup and return to WAFCON as future champs. We wish Nigeria’s Super Falcons and Morocco’s Atlas Lionesses well for Saturday’s dream home final for the host nation.”
Nigeria Super Falcons visit Salgado
In pure show of class and sportswomanship, the Super Falcons of Nigeria showed up at the Mohamed VI University Hospital in Casablanca to visit Salgado after sending messages to her on social media across several platforms. Fans across the world have praised this visit as a showcase of humanity and how football brings the world together.
As the great icon of South Africa Nelson Mandela once said, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.” Nigeria and South Africa have met a record 12 times at the WAFCON.
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