Banyana Banyana face Nigeria in crucial World Cup play-off battle

Banyana Banyana must overcome familiar rivals Nigeria on Thursday to keep their hopes of reaching next year’s World Cup in Brazil alive.

South Africa were denied automatic qualification after Morocco beat them 2-1 in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) quarter-finals at Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Saturday.

The result ended Banyana Banyana’s direct route to the World Cup, but they still have an opportunity to reach the tournament through the intercontinental play-offs.

South Africa will meet Nigeria at Stade Moulay Rachid in Casablanca on Thursday at 22:00 South African time, with one of the two Confederation of African Football (CAF) places in the play-offs at stake.

The intercontinental play-offs will be staged over two phases between November and February next year.

Veteran defender Bambanani Mbane acknowledged that South Africa had not performed at their best during the Wafcon, but said the squad had to put the disappointment behind them and concentrate on the meeting with the Super Falcons.

“I think from the beginning of the tournament, we didn’t do our best. I think it was not our time. Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do now to change what has happened, but we can still qualify for the World Cup,” she said.

“We must just chin up and focus on the next game against Nigeria. We know that it’s going to be a difficult game but we will go all out.”

Nigeria have historically held the advantage in this fixture. The Super Falcons have beaten Banyana Banyana 15 times in 25 meetings, while South Africa have recorded four victories and the other six matches have ended in draws.

Karabo Dhlamini said the players were frustrated at missing out on direct qualification, but insisted they needed to remain positive before Thursday’s decisive encounter.

“We are disappointed because now we have to take a longer route [of qualifying for the World Cup], but we have to lift our heads up and make sure we win on Thursday.”

The preliminary phase of the intercontinental play-offs will involve six teams. Two will come from AFC, two from CAF, one from OFC and one will be the lower-ranked team from Conmebol.

That stage will be played at a centralised venue in November and December. The six teams will be placed into three tiers and will take part in a set of pre-determined matches. Teams from the same confederation will not be allowed to play one another.

The two best-performing sides in the preliminary phase will progress to the final phase.

They will join four teams that have received byes: two from Concacaf, one from Uefa and the higher-ranked team from Conmebol. Those six teams will compete in single knockout matches, with the final three places at the World Cup in Brazil decided at the end of the process.

The participants will be ranked using the most recent Fifa rankings. The three highest-ranked teams will be seeded into separate pathways, while the remaining teams will be drawn against them. Sides from the same confederation cannot be placed in the same pathway.

Ndebele is in Morocco, courtesy of Banyana Banyana’s sponsor Sasol.

Sowetan