South Africa head coach Desiree Ellis is expecting a tough test when Banyana Banyana go up against Nigeria’s Super Falcons in the first leg of their CAF Olympic Qualifiers, slated for Friday.
The reigning African champions will take on Nigeria at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja as they seek to secure one of the two qualifying tickets to the women’s football event in Paris.
Ellis, who led the side to their triumph at the 2022 WAFCON in Morocco, stated that she expects her side to give a good account of themselves in the ‘do or die’ encounter.
“It’s been a good stay in Nigeria, for us. The game is important for us and Nigeria, it is do or die,” the 61-year-old coach said.
“It’s like you are in the last round of a boxing match, a 12-round fight, where the winner succeeds and the loser goes home, it’s that crucial. It can’t be any other way.
“It is two games, and the best results over the two games goes through to the Olympic games,” Ellis added.
🚨M A T C H D A Y!🚨
⚽️ Nigeria 🇳🇬 🆚 South Africa 🇿🇦
🗓 Friday, 5 April 2024
⏱ 5pm 🇳🇬
🏟 Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja
🧿 CAF Women’s Olympic Qualifiers – Final, First Leg
📱 #SoarSuperFalcons #NGARSA #Paris2024 #CAFWOQ pic.twitter.com/XOcfX606VZ
— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) April 5, 2024
Banyana Banyana have defeated Nigeria in their last two meetings, and they would be hoping to extend the record and put themselves in an advantageous position to book a place in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
South Africa last qualified for the Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, while the Super Falcons haven’t participated in the Olympics since 2008.
The return fixture will take at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on Tuesday, April 9.
