Nigeria stands between Banyana and Paris Olympics

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is hoping to have her best and most experienced players available when they take on old nemesis Nigeria to fight for one of Africa’s two spots at the Paris Olympics women’s football tournament.

Striker and stand-in captain Thembi Kgatlana scored the winner as Banyana beat Tanzania 1-0 at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday night for a 4-0 third round aggregate qualifying victory to set up a meeting with the Super Falcons.

The final round sees Banyana travelling to Nigeria for the first leg before they host the second leg on dates between April 1 and 9.

Tuesday’s match marked 100 caps for Banyana striker Jermaine Seoposenwe, who was among the scorers in the first leg. 

Ellis said it is important they win the tie against the Falcons after missing out on qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Banyana appeared in the 2012 and 2016 Games. 

Full-time captain Refiloe Jane and defender Bambanani Mbane missed the two encounters against Tanzania through injury, but Ellis is hopeful they will both be back when the reigning African champions play Africa’s No 1-ranked team.

“We know the Nigeria game is not going to be easy but we’ve shown in the past we can play with the best and having our best players back will also help a lot,” said Ellis.

“When it comes to those tough matches you need players with experience and you have to get the mix right with the youth and experience. So, hopefully we can get that right balance and get a positive result, first away from home again and then bring it at home and get the result.”

Seoposenwe also understands the importance of Banyana producing their ‘A’ game if they want to beat Nigeria. 

“We’ve seen them so many times over the past few years. It’s not going to be easy because we’re all gunning for the spot in the Olympics.”

The centurion thanked Ellis for the helping the coach gave Seoposenwe at the start of her international career. The striker is now a big star in Mexico’s professional women's league, where she plays for Monterrey.

“It’s been 14 years for me being part of the national team. Everyone has played such a big role in my journey in the national team.

“We’ve grown so much, coming from [winning] the [2022] Wafcon and going on to the World Cup [last year, where Banyana became the first senior SA team to reach the second round].

“You can see the growth in this team and you can see where we're going and what we want to continue to achieve. But it takes a lot of hard work and determination.”