South Africa kept their hopes of reaching the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup alive after defeating Nigeria 2-1 in Casablanca on Thursday.
The victory secured Banyana Banyana a place in the preliminary round of the Inter-Confederation Playoff, while Nigeria’s defeat brought their hopes of appearing at the tournament to an end.
The Super Falcons had entered the decisive encounter following a narrow 1-0 loss to Cameroon in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals. South Africa had also suffered a quarter-final exit after losing 2-1 to hosts Morocco.
With qualification for the World Cup playoff at stake, South Africa made their opportunity count. Thembi Kgatlana opened the scoring before captain Refiloe Jane extended the advantage in the second half.
Nigeria created chances as they searched for a response, but South Africa’s defence remained difficult to break down. Goalkeeper Kaylin Swart also played a key role, making important saves to preserve her side’s two-goal cushion.
The Falcons eventually found a route back into the contest after Jane was shown a red card following a handball that resulted in a penalty for Nigeria.
Christy Ucheibe took responsibility from the spot and calmly converted, cutting South Africa’s lead to 2-1 and giving Nigeria renewed hope of finding an equaliser.
Despite Nigeria’s late pressure, Banyana Banyana stood firm through six minutes of added time to claim the crucial win.
South Africa will now compete in the six-team Inter-Confederation Playoff preliminary round, where they will battle for one of the three remaining spots at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
