Banyana to take on Nigeria in grueling World Cup qualifier playoffs

Banyana Banyana will have another chance to compete for a spot in the Women’s FIFA World Cup qualification when they face Nigeria in a challenging playoff match on Thursday night. The South African team lost their automatic qualification opportunity to the quadrennial tournament after a 2-1 defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon).

The bottom four Wafcon teams must participate in a series of playoff matches to secure their place in Brazil for the 2027 World Cup. Ghana and Ivory Coast were the first teams eliminated in the Wafcon quarter-finals, and they will face off in the first round of the continental qualifiers on Thursday, before Banyana takes on Nigeria, a team that has won the tournament 10 times.

The two winners of the continental playoffs will advance to the preliminary round of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Intercontinental Playoff Tournament, which will feature teams from Asia, Oceania, and Conmebol football confederations. The top two ranked teams from this round will receive a direct entry into the final playoff, while the remaining four teams will battle it out for the last two spots.

The two winners of the preliminary phase, including the two who received byes, will join four other teams from UEFA, Concacaf, and Conmebol to compete for four additional spots to secure their place in Brazil in 2027.