Banyana believe World Cup dream is still alive as old foes Nigeria loom large

Casablanca — Banyana Banyana utility defender Bongeka Gamede believes they can still qualify for next year’s World Cup after they were eliminated by the hosts of the ongoing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) Morocco in the quarterfinals.

Banyana lost 2-1 to Morocco in the quarterfinals at Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Saturday, missing out on the automatic qualification of next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

SA will now face fellow quarterfinal losers and defending champions Nigeria, who are their old rivals, for one of CAF’s two intercontinental playoffs spots at Casablanca’s Moulay Rachid Stadium on Thursday (10pm SA time).

Nigeria, who are also the record 10-time title-holders, were stunned by Cameroon in the semifinals to set-up a date with Banyana that’s certain to ignite their rivalry. The winner of this match will play two rounds of play-off against yet-to-be-confirmed opponents from other continents for a slot at the next World Cup in Brazil next year.

“Definitely it’s not over…we have another opportunity and that should be the motivation. We must remain fully focused and believe that the dream is still there,” Gamede insisted.

From the start, Banyana were a shadow of their old self at this ongoing Wafcon, losing their Group B opener 2-1 to minnows Tanzania, before they drew their second fixture 2-2 versus Ivory Coast. Ultimately they beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in their last group stage match to sneak into the quarterfinals, where Morocco punished them.

Gamede has insisted that nothing went wrong for Banyana at this tournament, saying it’s the nature of the game to lose some matches. The Banyana defender, who plies her trade with Danish A-Liga club FC Nordsjælland, also refused to blame defence for conceding six goals at this Wafcon.

“I don’t think I can say there’s something wrong. Everyone who knows football knows that football is like this, you can’t always be at the top,” Gamede said.

“Conceding starts from how you press, so we can’t really say as defenders we are to blame because we play as a team.”