“Last time we cried and really I don’t want us to do that again,” Cameroon’s assistant manager Bernadette Anong said before her team’s 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Nigeria. Anong was referring to the 2004 final where she led her team as captain to a 5-0 defeat against the same opponents. Yet Cameroon came unstuck once again against their perennial foes, losing 4-2 on penalties to Nigeria’s Super Falcons on Tuesday. The margin of defeat may be tighter 14 years on but the tears flowed nonetheless in Ghana, where this year’s competition is being held.

To say Nigeria have dominated this competition would be an understatement; they have won it eight out of 10 times. And on Saturday they have a chance to tighten their grip on African women’s football when they face South Africa in the final. Both teams are now guaranteed places in next summer’s Women’s World Cup in France.

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The final in Accra will be a repeat of the opening Group B game, which the South Africans surprisingly won 1-0, only their second victory over Nigeria in more than two decades. That loss led to the Nigeria coach, Thomas Dennerby, coming under criticism for his perceived negativity.

Dennerby is now under a modicum of pressure to deliver a competition Nigerians have come to see as their birthright. The Swede was hired in January and has been afforded privileges by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) that are not necessarily available to local coaches. For example Dennerby was sponsored by the NFF to scout South Africa in Cyprus and France during the Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

He has achieved mixed results since taking charge: leading Nigeria to a disappointing third-place finish at the regional Wafu Cup and overseeing an 8-0 friendly loss to France in April, the Super Falcons’ worst ever defeat. In a country still sceptical about the curious sacking of Florence Omagbemi, who won this competition two years ago, anything short of victory would be bad news for Dennerby and his NFF superiors.

In the final on Saturday, Nigeria will be banking on a sturdy defence that has conceded only once and is led by the captain, Onome Ebi, as well as the attacking prowess of Desire Oparanozie and the former Arsenal and Liverpool striker, Asisat Oshoala, who have six goals between them.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Desire Oparanozie of Nigeria powers through the challenges of Cameroon’s Raissa Feudjio (left) and Christine Manie during their Women’s African Cup of Nations semi-final. Photograph: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

South Africa, on the other hand, enter the final as slight favourites to win their first ever Afcon. Their coach, Desiree Ellis, a former player, has fashioned a team with a passing identity from the ruins of their disastrous performance at the 2016 Olympics, when they crashed out in the group stages without scoring a goal. Banyana Banyana as the team are known, play a brand of football that is aesthetically pleasing, and they dominate teams with their superior passing game. Interestingly, Ellis is one of only two female managers at this tournament and has also led South Africa to their first ever World Cup. That is no mean feat for a manager who was initially seen as a temporary fix by the South African Football Association until she made herself too good to be ignored for a permanent post.

Ellis will also be looking to exact revenge for the 2-0 loss she suffered as captain of the South Africa team in the 2000 final against Nigeria.

Much of South Africa’s good work has come from Chrestina Thembi Kgatlana, a previously little-known 22-year-old forward who has made a name for herself with a string of impressive performances. Signed in February as a discovery player by Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States, Kgatlana’s form in Ghana is the next logical step in a career that had been building up a head of steam away from the limelight.

She was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2018 Cyprus Cup, an annual invitational tournament where she scored three goals, and the regional 2017 Cosafa Cup. In Ghana, Kgatlana has lit up the tournament with her electric pace and a dead-eyed penchant for goals. She is the top scorer with five and looks almost certain to be named player of the tournament barring any late surprises. She has been the stand-out player in tandem with the midfielder Linda Motlhalo, who knits play together with such grace and poise for South Africa.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thembi Kgatlana of South Africa surges past Nigeria’s Onome Ebi during their Women’s African Cup of Nations group match. The two teams meet again in the final. Photograph: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

In the end the organisers – the hosts Ghana and Caf – can take pride in a competition that has been a success and a great advertisement for the growth of the women’s game on the continent.

Women’s football is still seen as an afterthought by many African countries and fans but this two-week carnival has taken place without a hitch, without the disputes about money that is usually associated with African football.

All the games have been broadcast live on cable TV across Africa, and Caf has a dedicated Twitter account and website providing regular updates. These may seem small factors in the grand scheme of things, but this step in the right direction is noteworthy on its own for the women’s game in Africa.

The quality of football has been good, too, with 43 goals scored in 12 group games, an improvement on the 35 scored in the last two editions. Mali have been another surprise package, reaching the knockout phase for the first time in their history. They face Cameroon in the third-place play-offs on Friday , with the final African place at next year’s World Cup up for grabs. Ghana, meanwhile, became only the third hosts to crash out at the first hurdle and Equatorial Guinea, traditional powerhouses, lost all three of their group games by a combined score of 18-1.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bassira Touré celebrates after scoring one of her two goals in Mali’s 2-1 win over the hosts Ghana during their group stage match. Photograph: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

In a competition that has been marked by relative minnows upsetting the applecart on many occasions, South Africa now face the biggest test of nerve and skill in the history of their women’s side. Nigeria, naturally, will seek for a continuation of the status quo and another title. There will inevitably be tears for somebody on Saturday night.