Banyana Banyana end Nigeria’s World Cup streak with play-in victory

[p]But for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nigeria/KbvGP3KC/"]Nigeria[/a]’s Super Falcons, it is the end of the road as they fail to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history following a disastrous campaign at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, where they also failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time.[/p][p]It will no doubt spark plenty of soul-searching in the West African nation, whose men also failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-africa/23FeDl3D/"]South Africa[/a] have been below par at WAFCON themselves as they exited in the quarter-finals, but saved their best performance for last.[/p][p]The first half was devoid of clear-cut chances for either side, though Nigeria’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alozie-michelle/p0bWwi0E/"]Michelle Alozie[/a] skewed her shot wide when well placed on the edge of the box.[/p][image alt="Match statistics" id="62bc43e6-beac-4a97-8653-dbda8e5c787c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="4221361d-6ade-46ae-9ba8-694f493e2fc4" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]South Africa moved the ball around nicely but offered little threat going forward and only troubled Super Falcons goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nnadozie-chiamaka/tnZ6xVli/"]Chiamaka Nnadozie[/a] with a few long-range efforts.[/p][p]Nigeria started the brighter in the second half and veteran [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/oshoala-asisat/bHC07VMC/"]Asisat Oshoala[/a] found herself in space on the right-hand side of the box, but her cross was too close to goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swart-kaylin/jmc1dx9g/"]Kaylin Swart[/a], with teammates lurking.[/p][p]Oshoala then had a chance herself as the ball fell to her on the edge of the six-yard box, but she could not get a good connection on her effort and Swart was able to gather.[/p][p]It was the kind of chance the Oshoala of a few years ago would have gobbled up, and she was replaced shortly afterwards.[/p][embed guid="8dac3081-f9a8-4dac-bbe2-276468b01cf8" url="https://x.com/CAFwomen/status/2088016377940734207?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]South Africa took the lead in the 61st minute with a lightning-quick break that caught the Super Falcons napping.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/motlhalo-linda/CC4Y13K9/"]Linda Motlhalo[/a]’s through-ball for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/magaia-hildah/nVhUhlr7/"]Hildah Magaia[/a] was inch-perfect and the latter squared for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kgatlana-thembi/KEqY2g2K/"]Kgatlana[/a] to fire low past Nnadozie. The goalkeeper managed to get a boot to the shot, but the ball squirmed over the line.[/p][p]It was a fourth goal of the tournament for Kgatlana and an eighth overall at WAFCON after she also netted four times in 2018.[/p][p]Nnadozie denied Kgatlana a second with a fine low stop, while at the other end Swart pulled off a superb save to deny [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kanu-uchenna/zoOO6b89/"]Uchenna Kanu[/a]’s header.[/p][p]That proved crucial as, minutes later, Nigeria only half-cleared a corner and Jane’s shot from the edge of the box took a deflection and wrong-footed Nnadozie to make it 2-0.[/p][p]Nigeria were awarded a penalty on the stroke of 90 minutes when Jane blatantly handled the ball in the box and received a second yellow card.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ucheibe-christy/d2q6SpRq/"]Christy Ucheibe[/a] slotted the penalty with aplomb to give Nigeria hope, but they could not force the equaliser[/p][image alt="Player ratings" id="6d26e4a7-782a-45c9-a382-1b4fb158b72d" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="a777cfe6-8e3a-4bb1-83c3-9e2d0f7746e0" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p][b]How the inter-confederation play-offs work[/b][/p][p]South Africa will join [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ghana/fTSIFW3l/"]Ghana[/a] in the inter-confederation play-offs, which will start in November and December. They have a complicated structure and will conclude in March next year.[/p][p]There will be six teams in the preliminary phase: the two African sides, two from Asia, one from Oceania and the lower-ranked side from South America.[/p][p]The sides will be split into three tiers of two teams. Nations from the same confederation cannot be drawn together or face one another.[/p][p]Teams will play three matches, one each against teams from the other two tiers and one against the side drawn alongside them in their own tier.[/p][embed guid="76ae9f67-43e5-48b9-8f9a-725bb4891c21" url="https://x.com/CAF_Online/status/2088009932956201384?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]They will earn points for wins and draws, with the top two teams in the six-team table advancing to March’s final play-off round.[/p][p]The pair will join four sides who were given a bye through the preliminary stage: two from North and Central America, one from Europe and the higher-ranked team from South America.[/p][p]The top three teams there, according to the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, will be seeded and each take on one of the three lower-ranked sides in a one-off fixture for a place at the World Cup.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/venezuela/xImGAN3T/"]Venezuela[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ecuador/naLPFwxE/"]Ecuador[/a] have been confirmed from South America, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uzbekistan/fPB68otI/"]Uzbekistan[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chinese-taipei/lpqZiIj1/"]Chinese Taipei[/a] will represent Asia. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/papua-new-guinea/bae43nwk/"]Papua New Guinea[/a] will be the Oceania representative.[/p]