‘The Dream Is Still Alive’: Ellis
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis praised her squad’s resilience after a dramatic 2-1 victory over Nigeria in Thursday’s 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification playoff in Casablanca.
In what was dubbed the final before the final, South Africa made one change to their starting line-up, bringing in Ronnel Donnelly for Noxolo Cesane at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco.
The 2022 African champions stunned the 10-time CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) winners with goals from Thembi Kgatlana and captain Refiloe Jane.
The Super Falcons pulled one back from the penalty spot after Jane was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box and was subsequently shown her second yellow card of the match.
It was a nervy end to the clash as Nigeria threw everything at their opponents, but the South African defence stood firm, ably assisted by goalkeeper Kaylin Swart, who was named Player of the Match.
“I think we just like to make things difficult for ourselves, but the dream is still alive. I think we started really well, we had a lot of possession, but we never really threatened. I think they had more shots at goal, but when we came out at half-time, we started moving the ball around.
“They had a big chance, and Kaylin made a huge save, and that was probably the turning point of the game. On the other hand, there was a penalty, but this team never gave up. I said yesterday that we know how important this game is. There’s no greater motivation than playing one of the big guns on the continent, and besides that, there’s a lot at stake,” said Ellis.
“Now we get another opportunity to go forward, and our objective is to qualify for the World Cup, and we’re still in it. I just want to congratulate the players, the technical staff and everybody because there were a lot of hands on deck over these last couple of days to make sure that we got to this point.
“We changed the team a bit, and I’m not sure they were ready for that surprise. We saw how good they were, but I think we were very resolute. The dream is still alive.”
In the other World Cup play-off clash, Ghana came from behind to knock Ivory Coast out of contention for a World Cup spot with a 2-1 victory.
The two CAF representatives advance to the second phase and will now join four other nations in a six-team mini-tournament, which includes two teams from Asia, one from South America and another from the OFC. The tournament is set to be played in November and December.
The top two teams in this round will progress to the final phase, scheduled for February next year, where the final three places will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027.
