Nigeria and South Africa renew one of Africa’s fiercest rivalries on Thursday in a high-stakes winner-takes-all clash for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 Play-Off Tournament Preliminary Phase.
Both sides failed to secure automatic qualification for Brazil 2027 after suffering quarter-final exits at WAFCON 2026 and now face a must-win encounter to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
The winner will secure one of Africa’s two spots in the Play-Off Tournament Preliminary Phase, with Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana contesting the other place. Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan from Asia, Papua New Guinea from Oceania, and Ecuador and Venezuela from South America have already secured their places, while teams from other confederations are yet to complete the play-off field.
Nigeria Eye 10th World Cup Appearance
Nigeria are eyeing a record-extending 10th FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification. The Super Falcons are the only African nation to have qualified for every edition of the tournament since its inception in 1991 and are among just seven countries worldwide to have achieved that feat.
Their nine previous appearances include a quarter-final finish in 1999, their best result at the competition, as well as Round of 16 appearances in 2019 and 2023. They will look to captain Rasheedat Ajibade, veteran forward Asisat Oshoala and Uchenna Kanu, with the trio leading Nigeria’s scoring charts at WAFCON 2026 on two goals apiece, as the Super Falcons aim to keep their perfect World Cup qualification record intact.
South Africa Chase Third Consecutive Qualification
South Africa are chasing a third consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance after qualifying for the 2019 and 2023 editions.
Banyana Banyana enjoyed their best World Cup campaign in 2023, reaching the Round of 16 after advancing beyond the group stage for the first time. Thembi Kgatlana has led South Africa’s attack at WAFCON 2026 with three goals as Banyana Banyana look to keep their World Cup dream alive and move a step closer to Brazil 2027.
Familiar Foes, New Stakes
Thursday’s encounter will be the 27th meeting between Nigeria and South Africa, a rivalry that has spanned FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers, WAFCON, Olympic qualifiers, the African Games and international friendlies.
Nigeria hold the advantage with 18 wins from the previous 26 meetings, while South Africa have won four and four matches have ended in draws. Recent contests have been closely fought, with the Super Falcons winning 2-1 in the WAFCON 2024 semi-finals and edging Banyana Banyana 1-0 on aggregate in the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers. South Africa’s most significant recent victory came at WAFCON 2022, when they defeated Nigeria en route to their maiden continental title.
MATCH DETAILS:
Match: South Africa vs Nigeria
Date: Thursday, 13 August 2026
Time: 9:00 PM (WAT)
Venue: Moulay Rachid Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco
What they said
Justin Madugu (Nigeria head coach):
“We have a second chance. We have this second opportunity. We are still going to do the best that we can. We’re not leaving anything out. We’re going to put in all our best to make sure that we put smiles on the faces of our people because we know what it means to all of us as Nigerians.”
Desiree Ellis (South Africa head coach):
“Obviously, we would have preferred to be playing in the semifinals but the disappointment of losing the last game is going to drive us to get a positive result. It is one of us not going further. It is a big game for us. The players know this. We have to do what we have to do. We just have to execute our plans and make sure that we win.”
How to Watch
The match will be shown live on CAF’s official broadcast partners worldwide, with CAF TV on YouTube available in selected territories. Coverage is also available on beIN SPORTS CONNECT, beIN SPORTS XTRA Ñ, DAZN, Sport Italia, Sport 5 and Ziggo Sport.
