Banyana Banyana keep 2027 Women’s World Cup hopes alive after Morocco defeat

South Africa’s hopes of reaching the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup remain intact despite their 2-1 loss to Morocco in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals.

The defeat on Saturday night ended Banyana Banyana’s progress in the tournament and ruled out automatic qualification for the World Cup. However, they still have another opportunity to secure a place through a secondary play-off route.

That route begins on Thursday, when South Africa will face either Nigeria or Cameroon.

South Africa head coach Ellis said the players were disappointed after the defeat by Morocco, but stressed that their World Cup campaign was not over.

“Immediately after the game, there was disappointment among the players, but we reminded them that we still have a game to play and that they’re not completely out of it,” Ellis added.

The coach acknowledged that South Africa had wanted to qualify directly rather than take the additional play-off route. With the opportunity now in front of them, Ellis said the squad must recover quickly and prepare both mentally and physically for the next challenge.

“We didn’t want to go that route, but it’s been thrown at us. We need to make sure that mentally and physically, we are ready for that game. We can’t cry over spilt milk at the moment.”

The result brought Banyana Banyana’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign to an end at the quarter-final stage, but Ellis said she remained proud of the team’s performance against Morocco.

South Africa made the stronger start and controlled the opening 35 minutes before conceding. Ellis felt her side had played well until that point and believed the eventual result did not reflect the balance of the match.

“For the first 35 minutes, we were in control until we conceded. We had played well until that moment,” Ellis said.

A penalty conceded shortly after half-time left South Africa needing to recover again, but they responded by returning to their attacking game. They eventually scored and spent a long period putting Morocco under pressure.

The South African coach said Morocco had created few clear threats, while her own players continued to compete despite the setbacks.

“Conceding that penalty just after half-time put us back where we had to restart, but then we started playing again and got the goal, having them on the back foot for a very long time.

“They hardly threatened our goal. But I can be very proud of the team. We knew how important this game was, and I think everybody that stepped onto the field can be proud that they gave everything.”

South Africa’s immediate focus is now the play-off match on Thursday. Victory would keep their bid to appear at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup alive, after Morocco’s win denied them the automatic qualification route.