The South African U20 Women’s National Team, Basetsana, will face Ghana in the third round of the 2026 African U20 Women’s World Cup qualification following a dominant 9-0 aggregate victory against neighbours Eswatini over two legs. Maud Khumalo’s charges won the away clash at the Somhlolo National Stadium in Lobamba 5-0 before completing the job in Nelspruit 4-0.
In the first match, Bonolo Mokoma was the destroyer in chief with two goals to her name, ably assisted by Katlego Mohale, Zoe October and Mavis Maiacane. The reverse fixture saw the latter player lead the charge with a brace, with Katleho Malebana and Khwezi Khoza chipping in with one goal each for a fine win that set up a mouthwatering match-up against the West Africans scheduled for February next year.
The Black Princesses advanced after home and away successes over Tunisia – each game ending in a 2-0 triumph.
South Africa is still in search of their first FIFA World Cup appearance and Maud Khumalo will be eager to rewrite the history books with a win against the Ghanaians to be one step closer to qualification.
Twenty four nations, including the hosts, will feature in the youth women’s global competition with the African continent allocated four spots.
The other positions will be filled up by AFC (Asia) – 4; CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) – 4; CONMEBOL (South America) – 4; UEFA (Europe) – 6 and OFC (Oceania) – 2.
Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria flew the African flag high at the Colombia edition of the tournament last year – but the North Africans (Morocco) have just been knocked out of the current qualifiers by Ivory Coast.
The third round will see some interesting clashes as countries vie for the elusive spot in the next round of the prestigious women’s youth tournament.
Cameroon made a strong statement with an 18-0 aggregate win over Niger, Botswana brushed aside Mozambique, and Ethiopia was no match for Kenya.
There were also triumphs for, among others, Zambia, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and Malawi.
Second Round Results:
| Team 1 | Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Niger | 0–18 | Cameroon | 0–9 | 0–9 |
| Botswana | 3–1 | Mozambique | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Ethiopia | 1–5 | Kenya | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Tanzania | 7–0 | Angola | 4–0 | 3–0 |
| Tunisia | 0–4 | Ghana | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| Eswatini | 0–9 | South Africa | 0–5 | 0–4 |
| Uganda | 5–0 | Namibia | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Burundi | 1–4 | Zambia | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Ivory Coast | 6–4 | Morocco | 3–1 | 3–3 |
| Mali | w/o | DR Congo | 1–1 | – |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1–3 | Egypt | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Benin | 9–4 | Guinea | 5–1 | 4–3 |
| Rwanda | 0–5 | Nigeria | 0–1 | 0–4 |
| Senegal | 6–0 | Algeria | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Guinea-Bissau | w/o | Congo | – | – |
| South Sudan | 1–3 | Malawi | 0–2 | 1–1 |
*** DR Congo won on walkover and advanced to the third round after Mali withdrew prior to the second leg following a 1–1 draw in the first leg ***
Third Round Fixtures:
Some interesting clashes in the third round will see Cameroon face Botswana, Zambia go toe to toe with Uganda, Nigeria tackle Senegal with Kenya exchanging blows with Tanzania.
The overall winners in this phase will be just one round away from punching their tickets to global tournament that will be held in Poland from 5-27 September 2026.
The fourth and final round will be played in May.
By Matlhomola Morake
