Banyana upbeat after beating Nigeria 2-1 in a WAFCON play-offs

South Africa’s women’s national football team, Banyana Banyana, players were happy after they beat Nigeria’s Super Falcons 2-1 in a WAFCON play-off match in Casablanca, Morocco, to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The former WAFCON champions produced one of their best performances to beat their long-time rivals, Nigeria, and qualify for the intercontinental playoffs for next year’s tournament.

Captain Refiloe Jane and goalkeeper Kaylin Swart believe Banyana will qualify for the World Cup if they play in the qualifiers as they did against Nigeria.

After a goalless first half, South Africa upped their game in the second half and forward Hilda Magaia set up forward Thembi Kgatlana for their opening goal, with the veteran forward scoring from close range.

The South Africans played with more confidence after scoring, and they doubled their lead with Jane profiting from a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area.

The Super Eagles pulled one back late in the referee’s optional time, but it was too little too late.

Kgatlana says, “We needed this to boost us. I think the more we play World Cup and big tournaments, it boosts us, and it again showed that when we are out, we always pick ourselves and get the result we need.”

Banyana players celebrated the victory as it kept alive their dream of qualifying for the World Cup, and they believe they will qualify for the tournament if they can perform the way they did against Nigeria in the inter-continental play-offs.

Swart says, “Hopefully we can look back at this game and continue to play the way we did tonight, and hopefully the results go our way because it’s not gonna be easy the road to qualifying for the World Cup.”

Jane says, “We didn’t have a great tournament. We needed to give ourselves a fighting chance. It wasn’t gonna be easy playing against Nigeria; credit to the team. What we need to do now is go home and make sure that when we get to the intercontinental playoffs, we are ready.”

Ghana and South Africa will be among 10 nations that will fight for the three final spots to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the intercontinental play-offs.

The first phase of the play-offs is scheduled for November and December, while the final phase will be in February.