Banyana Banyana Refuse to Give Up World Cup Dream Ahead of Nigeria Play-Off

By Dorcas Francis Koji

South Africa remain determined to secure a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup despite missing out on automatic qualification after their quarter-final defeat to Morocco at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Banyana Banyana were beaten 2-1 by the hosts in Rabat on Saturday, while Nigeria suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in Casablanca a day later.

The results ended the automatic World Cup hopes of both nations and left them among four teams fighting through the CAF play-off route for two remaining places in the inter-confederation play-offs.

Cameroon, Algeria, Malawi and hosts Brazil have already secured automatic places at the 2027 World Cup, leaving South Africa and Nigeria with everything to play for when they meet on Thursday.

South African midfielder Karabo Dhlamini insists the team’s ultimate objective remains unchanged despite their disappointment against Morocco.

“The goal is still the same,” Dhlamini told ESPN.

“We’ll try our best to win the play-offs, because we still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup.”

Dhlamini admitted that Morocco’s opening goal affected South Africa’s momentum but believes the team can quickly regroup.

“Coming into the game, the team did very well, but that first goal just broke our momentum,” she said.

“We’re not feeling happy, we’re disappointed, but it’s not the end of the world. We’re going to lift our heads up and focus on the next goal.

“The focus is to score more goals and win the game.”

South Africa had also endured a difficult start to their WAFCON campaign, losing to Tanzania in their opening fixture before drawing with Ivory Coast and defeating Burkina Faso to reach the knockout stage.

Defender Bambanani Mbane acknowledged the disappointment of losing to Morocco but insisted the team still have an opportunity to achieve their main objective.

“Going into the next game, it’s very important for us to lift our heads up,” Mbane told ESPN.

“It’s not over yet. We must do our best, and we will do our best.

“I’m disappointed, but I’m happy for Morocco. It’s part of the game. We did well, we did our best, but unfortunately, things weren’t on our side.”

South Africa will now face the Super Falcons at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca on Thursday, with the winner advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs.

The CAF play-off will provide another opportunity for both teams to keep their World Cup dreams alive, with the eventual qualifiers moving into the inter-confederation tournament scheduled for later in the year.

South Africa head coach Desiree Ellis acknowledged that her side would have preferred to secure automatic qualification but urged her players to focus immediately on the next challenge.

“We’re not out of it,” Ellis said.

“We didn’t want to go down that route, but it’s been thrown at us.

“We need to get ready for the next game mentally, get ready for it physically, we need to recover quickly.”

With Nigeria and South Africa both chasing a place at the 2027 World Cup, Thursday’s encounter promises to be another high-stakes chapter in one of African women’s football’s biggest rivalries.