South Africa's star striker Thembi Kgatlana missed last year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations due to personal reasons, but after firing Banyana Banyana into the quarterfinals, is relishing making up for lost time.
The 30-year-old was Player of the Tournament at the 2022 WAFCON -- when Desiree Ellis's team clinched their only continental title to date -- but was absent a year ago as they were defeated by Nigeria in the semifinal.
Since returning to the fold ahead of this year's tournament, Kgatlana has retaken her place as one of the team's key players, with her winner against Burkina Faso on Tuesday her second goal of the competition.
"It's always hard to be on the outside," Kgatlana told ESPN, "but I was really proud of the girls, the team that came out here.
"Obviously it wasn't the result we wanted [against Nigeria in the semfinal], and we've had a year to work on it.
"Now we're here, and focusing on the next match, the quarterfinal. It's one game at a game, and it's a team effort."
While South Africa reached the semis without Kgatlana a year ago, they appeared over-reliant on Hildah Magaia and Jermaine Seoposenwe, failing to score against Senegal in the quarterfinal before losing 2-1 to Nigeria in the semi.
This year, the Tigers UANL striker has been impactful, sparking the comeback against Ivory Coast in Banyana's second game - where they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in the last 20 minutes - before netting the winner against Burkina Faso in Casablanca to send them through as Group B runners-up behind the Ivorians.
Kgatlana believes she wouldn't have enjoyed her WAFCON return to form without the support of her teammates.
"It's the confidence that comes from the team," she continued, explaining her hot run of goalscoring.
"The better the team plays, the better I play, and I think, as a striker, you always need to be in the right areas.
"In these two moments, I was in the right areas for the team to score goals."
Kgatlana's return also gives Banyana another experienced head in a team where the margins will become increasingly fine, particularly with an ominous quarterfinal against Morocco looming.
After a dismal opening defeat by Tanzania, and the disastrous first half against the Elephants, South Africa have improved dramatically, and have begun to truly find their feet in the ongoing tournament.
The 30-year-old believes that she's become a stronger player in the years since the two teams last crossed paths in Rabat -- as Banyana defeated the Atlas Lionesses 2-1 in the 2022 WAFCON final -- ahead of Saturday's rematch.
"Playing outside of South Africa boosts me a lot, physically, mentally, tactically," she said. "So I'm happy as a senior player to come back and give the team the experience that they needed.
"It's football. [Some teams] play well, others don't. I'm happy that we're getting the momentum we need at the right time.
"A lot of teams started with momentum, and a lot of people were talking, but we've come to realise that it's the moments that matter the most.
"For us, it mattered to win [against Burkina Faso], to get to the next round, to be at our best."
Despite their improvement, South Africa will be outsiders against an impressive Morocco side who will be buoyed by home support in Rabat, but with their firepower finding their feet - and the experience of the 2022 triumph behind them - no one will be ruling out Banyana.
"We had a mandate coming from South Africa: one game at a time," Kgatlana concluded. "It has been clear, we've reached the next round.
"The mandate now is to face Morocco in the quarterfinals, and we'll take it from there.
"Some people had to stay up a bit late watching us [against Burkina Faso], but I think it was worth it because we passed through."
Just over 12 months ago, Kgatlana was watching on from the outside as her teammates prepared for a quarterfinal against Senegal in Oujda.
Now, she'll be leading them out, back in Rabat, for a showdown with last year's finalists, tournament hosts, and a place at the World Cup on the line.
