Jubilant Nigerians and dejected South Africans were on balance as the former won the second leg of the CAF Women's Olympic Qualification final round at Loftus Versfeld. (Sydney Sessibedi/Gallo Images)
- Banyana Banyana did not participate in the Tokyo Olympics, failing to qualify for the Olympics for the second consecutive year.
- The senior women's national team lost 1-0 on aggregate to Nigeria, unable to capitalize on the home support to make up for a 1-0 first-leg defeat in Abuja on Friday.
- Desiree Ellis' team must now focus on the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, where they will be defending champions, later this year.
- For more Banyana Banyana news, visit News24's dedicated soccer page.
According to the scoreline and the history books, Nigeria defeated Banyana Banyana to become one of the two African representatives to the Olympics later this year. But if you look closely, the South Africans lost more often to themselves than to their formidable opponents.
Banyana lost 1-0 in the first leg of their Olympic final qualifier against Abuja on Friday, making them their biggest rival in a game they were supposed to play against Nigeria.
Instead, Banyana lacked energy, aggression and creativity as they played out a goalless draw that ended their Olympic dreams at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday night.
There was little to indicate that Nigeria had actually scored a touchdown against South Africa, and the Super Falcons were content to absorb Banyana's pressure and manage the game.
The 11-time African champion used his experience to achieve results even when his team's performance was not at its best and his team wasn't at its full potential.
Banyana, who have improved by leaps and bounds since winning the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations and reaching the last 16 of the FIFA Women's World Cup, have played naive and become one of the most feared teams in the world. I didn't have any determination. Continent.
This was a big test for Banyana, who is expected to step up to the big stage and maintain his standards as one of the top guns. They failed here, giving an uninspiring performance despite the audience doing their part to the best of their ability.
The South Africans had the strength to push Banyana one step closer to qualifying for the Olympics, and just overturning a 1-0 loss in the first game was enough to qualify for the Olympics for the third time in the team's history.
Even political rivals the ANC and EFF put aside their differences ahead of the election and united in the common cause of supporting the African champions as they played in front of the biggest home crowd in a major competition.
Before the match, there were concerns that the Nigerian diaspora in Pretoria would outnumber South Africans – as had happened at previous Bafana Bafana matches in Gauteng.
Desiree Ellis justified her decision to play here, saying she was betting on the altitude to trouble Nigeria, and called on the South Africans to increase their numbers.
The response from the supporters was also positive, with the home crowd not only showing up in large numbers but also cheering on Banyana loudly and proudly.
However, the performance on the field did not match the energy of the crowd. Banyana lacked a spark of aggression and creativity, with their forwards operating in a different world to the creative midfield players they were supposed to be supplying.
As a result, Thembi Gatlana and Jermaine Soposengwe were left too far apart from each other and isolated from the rest of the team.
This has affected the Super Falcons, who have been depleted by injuries and have been forced to shuffle and place Benfica midfielder Christi Uchebe at centre-back.
Banyana was unable to put pressure on the Nigerians and take advantage of this. Instead, the visitors played with more confidence, confident that they had done their part in the first leg and that it was up to Banyana to take the lead in the return leg.
When the Super Falcons were tested, they used their physical strength to bully Banyana players off the ball.
Ellis brought on Hilda McGuire early in the second half, hoping for a “big winner'' who would save Banyana, as she had done many times before. However, without supplies or support, Maguire was ineffective.
When Banyana look back on their failure to qualify for the Olympics, a big part of the blame will be on them for the team's failure to show up when it mattered.
