Banyana Banyana face Nigeria in final World Cup qualification lifeline

Casablanca Banyana Banyana’s hopes of reaching next year’s World Cup remain alive despite their quarter-final defeat by Morocco, with a decisive play-off against old rivals Nigeria now standing between South Africa and another route to the tournament.

South Africa were beaten 2-1 by hosts Morocco at Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Saturday, a result which ended their hopes of securing automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

They must now overcome defending champions Nigeria in Casablanca on Thursday to claim one of the two places available through the intercontinental play-offs. The match will be played at Moulay Rachid Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 22:00 South Africa time.

Nigeria are also the record 10-time winners of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), and their meeting with Banyana is certain to renew a long-standing rivalry. Nigeria, who were stunned by Cameroon in the semi-finals, are among the quarter-final losers facing a further qualification contest.

The winner of Thursday’s match will advance to two rounds of play-offs against opponents from other continents, who have yet to be confirmed. A place in those matches would offer the victor one final opportunity to reach the World Cup in Brazil next year.

Banyana utility defender Bongeka Gamede said the disappointment of losing to Morocco must not obscure the opportunity that remains.

“Definitely it’s not over…we have another opportunity and that should be the motivation. We must remain fully focused and believe that the dream is still there,” Gamede insisted.

South Africa’s campaign has been difficult from the outset. They began their Group B programme with a 2-1 defeat by Tanzania, who were regarded as underdogs, before drawing 2-2 with Ivory Coast in their second match.

A narrow 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso in their final group fixture eventually enabled Banyana to squeeze into the quarter-finals. Morocco then ended their hopes of automatic World Cup qualification by winning the last-eight tie.

Gamede rejected the suggestion that there had been a specific problem with the team during the tournament. The defender, who plays for Danish A-Liga club FC Nordsjælland, also resisted attempts to place responsibility on the backline after South Africa conceded six goals at the Wafcon.

“I don’t think I can say there’s something wrong. Everyone who knows football knows that football is like this, you can’t always be at the top,” Gamede said.

South Africa’s defensive record, she added, could not be assessed separately from the team’s overall approach, particularly the way they apply pressure to opponents.

“Conceding starts from how you press, so we can’t really say as defenders we are to blame because we play as a team.”

With Nigeria next, Banyana must recover quickly from the Morocco defeat. Victory would keep their World Cup dream alive and send them into the intercontinental qualification process. A loss, however, would end their remaining route to Brazil.