The Super Falcons of Nigeria and Banyana Banyana of South Africa meet again on Thursday with their 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, in a high-stakes CAF play-off that neither side expected to be playing.
The two African heavyweights were supposed to be preparing for the already played Wednesday WAFCON semi-finals and automatic qualification for the World Cup in Brazil. Instead, both suffered quarter-final defeats and must now fight through another route to keep their global ambitions alive.
Nigeria were beaten 1-0 by Cameroon, while South Africa lost 2-1 to hosts Morocco. The four quarter-final winners secured automatic World Cup qualification, leaving Nigeria and South Africa among the defeated teams forced into the play-off pathway.
Thursday’s winner will advance to FIFA’s six-team Inter-Confederation Play-Off Tournament. Three World Cup places will eventually be available there, meaning victory in Casablanca will not book a direct ticket to Brazil but will keep that dream alive. The loser, however, will be eliminated from World Cup qualification.
The match kicks off at 9pm Nigerian time at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca.
