South Africa’s women’s national team remains in contention for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil despite a semifinal loss to Morocco, with a decisive playoff against Nigeria looming Thursday in Casablanca.
Banyana Banyana fell 2-1 to tournament hosts Morocco in Rabat on Saturday, missing out on one of four direct qualification spots from the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Nigeria suffered a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in Casablanca on Sunday, setting up the winner-take-all match at Moulay Rachid Stadium.
Cameroon, Algeria and WAFCON debutants Malawi secured the other three automatic berths. The playoff winners will advance to the inter-confederation tournament scheduled for November and December, where three final places in the 2027 World Cup will be decided among ten teams.
“The goal is still the same,” defender Karabo Dhlamini told ESPN. “We’ll try our best to win the playoffs, because we still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup. Coming into the game, the team did very well, but that first goal just broke our momentum. 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.”
South Africa’s path to the semifinals was uneven, opening with a loss to Tanzania before drawing with Ivory Coast and defeating Burkina Faso. Nigeria followed a similar trajectory in Group B.
“We’re not out of it,” head coach Desiree 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.”
Captain Bambanani Mbane echoed the resilient tone. “Going into the next game, it’s very important for us to lift our heads up. 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.”
The Super Falcons, nine-time African champions, represent familiar and formidable opposition. Both teams have historically dominated the continental women’s game, meeting in multiple WAFCON finals. Thursday’s single-elimination match will test which side can regroup faster from semifinal heartbreak.
For South Africa, the playoff represents a second chance at reaching a third consecutive Women’s World Cup after appearances in 2019 and 2023. The inter-confederation tournament will feature teams from other confederations competing for the final three slots in the 32-team World Cup field.
Kickoff at Moulay Rachid Stadium is set for Thursday evening local time.
