The first leg of the final African zone qualifying round for the 2 qualifying places in the women's soccer tournament for the Paris Olympics is being played this Friday, April 5. The matches pit Nigeria against South Africa and Zambia against Morocco.
The 4 teams in the running are all in the top 5 of the African rankings. All were at the last World Cup. The 4 countries playing for places at the Olympics are also the 4 who reached the semi-finals of the last WAFCON, so their encounters at this stage follow a kind of logic in view of past results.
Nigeria is theNo. 1 African nation in the FIFA rankings. It was one of the 3 African nations to reach the last 8 at the CAN, being eliminated on penalties (4-2) after a thrilling match against England (0-0). They had previously finished3rd at the WAFCON 2022 in Morocco.
This Friday, this team plays South Africa to take an option on qualification for the Olympic Games.
Banyana Banyana are the 2nd-ranked African nation in the CAF rankings. South Africa is one of the 2 other African teams to have qualified for the Round of 8.They were eliminated by the Netherlands at this stage (2-0). They are also the defending WAFCON champions. To show the still undecided nature of the match, but above all its high level.
The 2 teams have met 10 times, with 3 victories for Nigeria, 4 for South Africa, and 3 matches ending goalless. South Africa won their last meeting at the last WAFCON (2-1). As a result, today's match promises to be a fierce duel by any standards.
Nigeria coach Randy Waldrum spoke of the opponent's qualities ahead of the home match."They're a very good team, they're the reigning African champions, so we have to have a certain respect for them.... They're very dangerous and I know their coach is doing a great job.
However, he adds that he has total confidence in his team. "But as I said before, I really like our team and I have every confidence in our players to perform well.
Banyana Banyana defender Lebohang Ramalepe, meanwhile, declared.
"To be honest, it's going to be a tough match.Don't forget that both teams didn't qualify for the last Olympics.So it's do or die!But we're ready because we know how important the game is. It's just a matter of going out there and doing our best (on the day)."
The team that emerges victorious from the two-legged tie will be drawn in Group C of the Olympic Games, joining Spain, Brazil and Japan.
Nigeria's Super Falcons will host Banyana Banyana at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja. Kick-off is at 4pm GMT.
In the2nd clash of the day, Zambia's Coopers Queens,4th in the CAF rankings, host Morocco,3rd in the African rankings. It's another meeting between two teams who took part in the last World Cup.Zambia, who exited the competition in the1st round, and Morocco, who were knocked out in the 8th round by France.
Previously at the WAFCON, the Atlas Lionesses finished 2nd at home, while Zambia finished 3rd. The match therefore pits almost the best of the continent against each other. It should be a tight affair in both legs. However, Morocco will have to watch out for the Zambian forward line, with the Barbra Banda-Rachael Kundananji pair, the 2 most expensive players in the world, who are unrivalled strikers.
The Moroccan coach who led Spain to the world title, Jorge Vilda, will no doubt have a special plan against them.
The history of meetings between the 2 teams speaks for Zambia, who have won 2 of the 3 matches between them, including the last 2 in 2023 (2-6 and 0-2). The3rd match ended in a draw.
Racheal Kundananji had this to say about the home match. "I don't think it will be an easy task. We just need to be ready for the challenge because Morocco are a great team and they are also aiming to qualify. They're also studying us, so we need to be perfectly prepared," she said.
For her part, Moroccan international Sakina Ouazraoui declares. "I don't think we're going to put any more pressure on ourselves than that.Zambia are a team we know very well.We played them in a double-header last September. The result wasn't in our favor (editor's note: two defeats: 2-0 and 6-2) but I think we're a completely different team now. We're more ambitious and our game has evolved.One thing's for sure: we believe in ourselves and we'll fight to the end.
All the ingredients seem to be in place for a pleasant, high-level match. And that's all the crowd want! The match kicks off at 17:00 GMT.
The team that wins this 4th and final qualifying round will share Pool B at the Olympic Games with the USA, Australia and Germany.
Ladies and gentlemen it’s MATCHDAY 🚨
First leg of our CAF Women’s Olympic Qualifier.
⚽️Nigeria 🇳🇬 🆚 South Africa 🇿🇦
🗓️TODAY,05 April 2024
🏟️MKO Abiola Stadium
⏰18:00 (CAT)
📱SABC+
🌐https://t.co/lkn8vbmQVb #LiveTheImpossible #NotDoneYet pic.twitter.com/Jh2TTY3eUj— Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) April 5, 2024
