After a goalless draw in the first leg in Douala, the Super Falcons of Nigeria defeated Cameroon 1-0 in Abuja in the reverse fixture to secure progression to the fourth and final round of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualifiers.
The match took place on Monday, 26 February 2024 at the Moshood Abiola International Stadium in Abuja, Nigeria.
Ester Okoronkwo scored the solitary goal 15 minutes into the match against their regional rivals – making it third time lucky for Nigeria to go past this stage after the last two qualifiers ended in a heartbreak (beaten by Equatorial Guinea before Rio 2016 and lost to Cote d’Ivoire ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Games).
The advancement into the ultimate round will come as a welcome boost for the West Africans who have never struggled for make the Women’s World Cup but often fall short in the Olympic qualifiers – they haven’t been to the Olympic Games in 16 years, last time was in Beijing 2008.
But now they are only two matches away from changing their fortunes.
Standing in their way is the winner between South Africa and Tanzania – most likely to be the former who have taken a comfortable 3-0 lead from the first leg played on Friday, 23 February in Dar es Salaam – with goals coming from Jermaine Seoposenwe, Thembi Kgatlana and Hilda Magaia.
The Nigerians will confirm the identity of their opponents after the Tuesday clash between the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana and the Twiga Stars.
Four-time African Woman Coach of the Year, Desiree Ellis, wants to be business-like when she approaches the Tanzania clash at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.
“We’ve taken a lot of pressure off ourselves by getting such a good result away from home and we still have to make sure that we are the absolute best because it can never be over until the final whistle. We have to make sure that we are the team that scores the first goal and doing so, we will then take it away from Tanzania,” Ellis told SAFA.net
“But we’ve seen them play away from home and gotten a result against a team like Botswana who’s no easy feat playing in their home ground, so we have to make sure that we take nothing for granted because yes, we might have won three nil, but you know how easily things can change. We have to be professional in the way we do things and make sure that we win this match to make sure that we go through to the final round. If we speak about going to the Olympics, we have to ensure that we in the next round to be able to give ourselves a chance.”
The kickoff time at the Mbombela Stadium is 19h30.
Meanwhile Ellis has applauded Mexico-based forward Seoposenwe who is set to earn her 100th cap, becoming the 10thBanyana Banyana player to do so – joining an elite list of esteemed women footballers Janine van Wyk, Noko Matlou, Nompumelelo Nyandeni, Refiloe Jane, Nothando Vilakazi, Portia Modise, Mamello Makhabane, Amanda Dlamini and Leandra Smeda.
“I am really excited for Jermaine, she has been a true servant for South African football. She has been giving her all, always. She is the 10th player in Banyana Banyana to get 100 caps and it is well deserved,” said Ellis.
Seoposenwe made her debut in 2010, earning a half century of caps in 2017.
By Matlhomola Morake
