Banyana Banyana head coach Dr Desiree Ellis says the team knows just how big their 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier playoff against Nigeria is and how they need to execute their plan.
The two top-ranked African sides have both endured disappointing outings at the on-going Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco, having been knocked out at the quarter-final stage.
The results against Burkina Faso and tournament debutants – now finalists – Malawi, respectively, meant Banyana and the Super Falcons can’t compete for the trophy anymore and missed out on automatic qualification to next year’s Women’s World Cup.
They meet at the Moulay Rachid Stadium on Thursday for one of the two African spots to be part of the inter-continental playoffs for Brazil to be played later this year.
Ellis said the 2022 champions and the 10-time winners both know what’s at stake in Casablanca and Banyana will have to do what they need to do.
“Look, it’s not the place we want to be, but we’ve been given another opportunity – a very big opportunity – to go on a very long journey,” said Ellis.
“But we obviously have to bring our A game. There’s no margin for error. You know the disappointment of losing the previous game is going to probably drive us to get a positive result.”
“It’s not going to be an easy game. The two big guns of African football not where we want to be, and it’s one of us not going further ahead to qualify for the World Cup. So it’s a big game for us we know how big it is, the players know how big it is.
“I’m sure Nigeria knows how big it is but we just have to do what we have to do. We just have to execute our plans and make sure that we are victorious at the end of the day.”