Cameroon’s 1-0 defeat of Nigeria means the Super Falcons must beat South Africa on Thursday to retain hope of qualifying for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Banyana Banyana Coach, Desire Ellis, believes South Africa has the quality to beat a wobbling Super Falcons in the Brazil 2027 World Cup African playoff on Thursday to pick an inter-confederation playoff ticket.
While South Africa lost 1-2 to hosts Morocco on Saturday to exit the race for the 2026 African Women’s Cup of Nations title, Nigeria was beaten 0-1 by Cameroon on Sunday in the same race.
The defeats left South Africa and Nigeria with a fight for one of Africa’s two inter-confederation playoff tickets.
Looking ahead to the clash in Casablanca on Thursday, Ellis praised her girls for the fight they gave Morocco in the quarterfinal game, saying that their performance has given her hope that they can subdue Nigeria in the playoff.
Ellis admitted that the loss was difficult to accept, but insisted her players could hold their heads high after a performance in which she felt Banyana controlled large portions of the game.
“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.”
The coach congratulated Morocco on reaching the World Cup, while making it clear that South Africa’s own qualification hopes have not disappeared.
The demanding schedule means Ellis and her technical team must quickly shift their attention towards recovery and preparation.
“We didn’t want to go that route, but it’s been thrown at us, the dice turned the other way, and we reminded them that we need to get ready for that game.
For Ellis, there is no time to dwell on the disappointment of losing to the hosts.”
“We are just focusing on the next game, but obviously we’ll have to recover really quickly and then prepare for that game.”
The quarterfinal defeats mean that the Super Falcons and Banyana Banyana’s road to Brazil has become considerably more difficult, but victory for either side on Thursday in the playoff route will keep the winners’ World Cup ambitions alive with one of the two continental play-off tickets.
According to FIFA, the two qualifying teams from the play-offs will advance to the global play-off tournament to battle for the final remaining spots.
The first phase of the play-off tournament will be held in November and December 2026 at a centralised venue featuring six teams ranked according to the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking before the play-off draw.
There will be two teams from Asia, two from Africa, one from South America and one from Oceania. Using a format which will be confirmed at a later date, two teams will qualify for the final play-off phase.
The final play-off phase will be played in a centralised location in February 2027, where the two qualifiers from the first phase will be joined by two teams from North and Central America, one from South America and one from Europe.
The six teams will be drawn into three paths, with a direct knockout match to determine the final three teams qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027. Teams from the same confederation will not be permitted to be drawn in the same pathway.
Of all the competing teams across these phases, only three will make it to the tournament in South America next summer.
