South Africa head coach Desiree Ellis has stressed the importance of her team being fully prepared for their crucial clash against Nigeria’s Super Falcons, Completesports.com reports.
Banyana Banyana were eliminated from the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations last Saturday following a 2-1 defeat to hosts Morocco.
Nigeria also saw their title hopes come to an end after suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon in a keenly contested quarter-final encounter at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Sunday night.
South Africa will now face the Super Falcons in a play-in clash at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca on Thursday.
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The winner of the encounter will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs, where they will join nine other teams battling for places at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Three teams from the inter-confederation play-offs, scheduled to take place in November and December 2026, will secure qualification for the global showpiece.
Ellis Urges Focus Ahead Crucial Clash
Ellis acknowledged the importance of the encounter against Nigeria, insisting that Banyana Banyana must take full advantage of the opportunity to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
“We’re not out of it. We didn’t want to go down that route, but it’s been thrown at us,” Ellis was quoted by ESPN.
“We need to get ready for the next game mentally, get ready for it physically, we need to recover quickly.”
By Adeboye Amosu
