Banyana take one step closer to Olympic qualification with win over Tanzania

Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis. Photo: Nigel Keene/ProSportsImages/DPPI via AFP

Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis. Photo: Nigel Keene/ProSportsImages/DPPI via AFP

Published Feb 27, 2024

Share

Banyana Banyana will take on Nigeria in a winner-takes-all qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after a convincing aggregate win over Tanzania on Tuesday night.

Thembi Kgatlana scored the only goal of the game as Desiree Ellis’ women beat the Tanzanians 1-0 on the night, and 4-0 on aggregate after winning the first leg 3-0 last week.

There was not much in the low-key affair at Mbombela Stadium as a relaxed Banyana secured the win.

The game, which was goalless at the break, came into life in the 58th minute whe Kgatlana put the ball in the back of the net. Kgatlana killed off any hope the Tanzanians had of overturning their first leg deficit.

While the clash was low-key, star forward Jermaine Seoposenwe won her 100th international cap, and became the 10th player in Banyana Banyana history to reach the milestone.

After overcoming the Democratic Republic of Congo in the second round, and Tanzania in the third, South Africa will now go up against Nigeria for one of two place in the Paris games.

The other quaification berth will go to one of Ghana, Zambia, Tunisia and Morocco, who play their games on Wednesday evening.

South Africa’s qualifiers against Nigeria will be played between the 1 and 9 of April.

IOL Sport