The South African U20 Women’s National Team, Basetsana, have it all to do in their second round second leg clash against Burundi in a FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifier at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville, Pretoria.
The encounter takes place on Wednesday (11 October 2023), and kick-off is at 15h00.
Entry is free and the match will also be broadcast live on SABC 1.
Following a goalless draw in the first leg at the same venue – which was a home match for Maud Khumalo’s charges – the South Africans are well aware there is no room for error as they will be playing “away”, and this is because the Burundians’ match venue has not been deemed acceptable for competition.
While they dominated the clash on Sunday (8 October), Basetsana could not make use of the chances they created and now find themselves under pressure of not conceding as they could be knocked out by the away goal rule.
Basetsana remain the only South African national team to still qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
The permutations are very clear for the South Africans:
- Win and proceed to the next round
- A draw with goals will see Burundi advance
- A goalless draw and the winner will be decided on penalties
- Lose the match and they have been knocked out
“We understand that we have made the situation very difficult for ourselves, but I believe if we can score an early goal on Wednesday, the girls will settle and be able to play according to the plan that we have being working on. We have addressed the many issues that were concerning in the first match and we are positive that we will come away with the win and progress to the next round of qualifiers,” Khumalo told SAFA.net
The winners in this fixture will face either Zambia or the DR Congo in the third round next month.
The fourth and final round will be played in December – these will decided which four nations will represent the African continent in Colombia.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024 will be the 11th edition of the tournament, and will be played from 31 August to 22 September.
It has been expanded from 16 to 24 teams.
Spain are the reigning champions.
Alongside hosts Colombia, 11 nations have already booked their tickets to the tournament, with 13 spots still up for grabs.
By Matlhomola Morake
