Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana (born 2 May 1996) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL Femenil and the South Africa women's national team.
Club career
Houston Dash In February 2018, Kgatlana moved to the United States to join the Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League. She was brought in by her former national team coach Vera Pauw. Kgatlana joined her South African teammates Janine van Wyk and Linda Motlhalo in Houston. Kgatlana made 16 appearances with Houston and she scored 2 goals.
Kgatlana was waived by the Houston Dash on 6 February 2019 so she could sign with Beijing BG Phoenix F.C.
Beijing BG Phoenix On 22 February 2019, Kgatlana was announced as having signed with Beijing BG Phoenix F.C. in the Chinese Women's Super League on a one-year deal. She was joined by South African teammate Linda Motlhalo who also made the move from Houston to China.
Kgatlana scored six league goals in 10 appearances during the 2019 Chinese Women's Super League campaign, helping her Beijing BG Phoenix side to a fifth-place finish.
SL Benfica On 27 January 2020 she signed with SL Benfica. On 1 February 2020 she made her debut with the club being subbed on in a 3–1 win over Braga in Taça da Liga Feminina.
Prior to their cancellation owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kgatlana helped Benfica to the final of both Portuguese Cup and Taca da Liga Femenina competitions as well as the top of the league table. The result was enough to qualify the club for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in their history.
SD Eibar Kgatlana's spell at Benfica came to an early end owing to complications arising from the COVID-19 crisis, with a salary cap introduced across Portuguese women's football. On 21 July 2020, it was announced that she had joined newly promoted Spanish Primera División side SD Eibar on a one-year contract. Kgatlana made her debut on 4 October 2020 in a 1–0 victory over Real Betis, before opening her goalscoring account the following week in a 2–2 draw against Levante.
On 31 October 2020, Kgatlana scored her second goal for the club on her first start in a 1–0 victory over Espanyol, however she was forced off with the game still in the first half due to a minor injury. Upon her return from injury, she immediately returned to goalscoring form with a stunning strike in a 3–1 defeat to Real Madrid having once again entered from the substitutes bench.
Racing Louisville NWSL club Racing Louisville paid a transfer fee to obtain Kgatlana on 6 July 2022. She signed a two-year contract with a club option for the 2024 season. However, she missed the 2022 season after tearing her Achilles tendon against Botswana in the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations. She debuted for Racing on 6 May against Orlando Pride, her first match since tearing her Achilles tendon in 2022. On 12 May, joining the match as an 81st-minute substitute, she assisted on Racing's third goal of the match.
Tigres UANL On 20 December 2023, Racing Louisville FC agreed to transfer Kgatlana to Tigres UANL for the second largest transfer fee in league history of $275,000. She scored in the 2025 Apertura final as part of Tigres' comeback in the second half of the first leg against Club America. Tigres went on to win the title after winning the second leg, giving Kgatlana her first league championship with the club.
International career
Kgatlana represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations, where she won the Player of the Tournament and was the highest goal scorer. She also represented South Africa at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, where she scored her country's first goal ever in the tournament. On 2 August 2023, she scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Italy in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup last group stage match, to be her country's first ever win in the competition which led to their qualification to the knockout phase.
International goals Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition10 November 2016Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Friendly 14 September 2017Luveve Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe2017 COSAFA Women's Championship 15 September 2017 Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 24 September 2017 2 March 2018 Tasos Markos Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus 2018 Cyprus Cup 10 October 2018 Estadio Santa Laura, Santiago, Chile Friendly 18 November 2018 Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations 21 November 2018 24 November 2018 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana 27 November 2018 Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana 19 January 2019Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South AfricaFriendly19 January 2019GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus2019 Cyprus Women's Cup 8 June 2019 Stade Océane, Le Havre, France 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup 10 April 2021 Bidvest Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Friendly 13 April 2021 17 September 2021 Onikan Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria Aisha Buhari Cup 18 February 2022 Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification 12 April 2022 ADO Den Haag Stadium, The Hague, Netherlands Friendly 28 July 2023 Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand 2–0 2–2 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup 2 August 2023 Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand 3–2 3–2 25 October 2023 Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo 1–1 1–1 2024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 30 October 2023 Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 1–0 2–0 2–0 23 February 2024 Chamazi Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2–0 3–0 27 February 2024 Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela, South Africa 1–0 1–0 29 October 2024 Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry, England 1–2 1–2 Friendly 28 October 2025 Dobsonville Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 1–0 1–0 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification 31 July 2026 Moulay Rachid Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco 1–2 2–2 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations 4 August 2026 1–0 1–0 8 August 2026 Moulay El Hassan Stadium, Rabat, Morocco 1–2 1–2 13 August 2026 Moulay Rachid Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco 1–0 2–1
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalTotal DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsHouston Dash2018National Women's Soccer League162000000162Beijing BG Phoenix2019Chinese Women's Super League 106 11 42 00 169SL Benfica2019–20Campeonato Nacional Feminino 10 11 22 00 43SD Eibar2020–21Primera División 2110 00 00 00 2110Atletico de Madrid2021–22Primera División 256 10 00 00 266Racing Louisville FC2023National Women's Soccer League 182 10 00 00 192UANL Tigres2023-24Liga MX Femenil 207 00 00 00 2072024-25 3414 00 32 42 4118Total54210032426125Career total 14145 42 96 42 15855
Personal life On 5 December 2023, Kgatlana proposed to long-time girlfriend Abongile Dlani.
Honours
Benfica Taça da Liga: 2019–20
UANL Tigres Liga MX Femenil: Campeon de Campeones 2023-24
International
Women's Africa Cup of Nations: 2022, runner-up: 2018 COSAFA Women's Championship: 2017
Individual
CAF African Women's Footballer of the Year 2018 CAF African Goal of the Year: 2018 CAF Africa Women Cup of Nations Best Player: 2018 CAF Africa Women Cup of Nations Top Scorer: 2018 Cyprus Cup Best player 2018 COSAFA Women's Championship Player of the Tournament: 2017
References
External links
Profile at Confederation of African Football (CAF)