South Africa defeated Nigeria 2-1 in Casablanca on Thursday to secure a place in the Inter-Confederation Playoff preliminary round for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The defeat ended the Super Falcons’ hopes of qualifying for the tournament for the first time in their history.
Nigeria entered the decisive encounter after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, while South Africa were beaten 2-1 by hosts Morocco at the same stage.
With both teams needing victory to keep their World Cup hopes alive, South Africa took the lead through Thembi Kgatlana before captain Refiloe Jane doubled Banyana Banyana’s advantage in the second half.
Nigeria struggled to find a way through South Africa’s defence despite creating several opportunities, with goalkeeper Kaylin Swart making crucial saves to keep her side ahead.
The Super Falcons were handed a lifeline late in the game when Jane was sent off after a handball resulted in a penalty for Nigeria.
Christy Ucheibe converted the spot-kick to reduce the deficit to 2-1 and give Nigeria hope of completing a comeback.
However, South Africa held on during six minutes of stoppage time to secure a crucial victory.
The result means Banyana Banyana advance to the six-team Inter-Confederation Playoff preliminary round, where they will compete for one of three available places at the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
The top two teams from the preliminary round will advance alongside four teams that have received byes. The winners of the three final-round ties will then qualify for the World Cup in Brazil.
For Nigeria, however, the defeat brings an end to their hopes of appearing at the tournament and marks the first time the Super Falcons have failed to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
South Africa’s victory follows Ghana’s 2-1 win over Côte d’Ivoire earlier on Thursday, which also secured the Black Queens a place in the Inter-Confederation Playoff preliminary round.
Vanguard News
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