Noko Matlou, defender for the South African women’s national team, is confident her team will defeat Nigeria and qualify for the Olympics for the third time after missing out on the 2020 Tokyo edition.
Banyana Banyana made their Olympic debut in 2012, followed by their second appearance at the 2016 Rio Games. They hope to qualify for the 2024 Paris edition, but first, they must defeat the Super Falcons in a two-legged matchup next month.
They advanced to the final round of qualifiers after defeating Tanzania 4-0 on aggregate. Nigeria, on the other hand, secured their spot with a 1-0 win over Cameroon.
Desiree Ellis, Banyana Banyana’s coach, unveiled her squad for the match against Nigeria yesterday.
Making the cut is veteran defender, Matlou, who has 168 appearances for South Africa and 66 goals.
The 2008 CAF Women’s Footballer of the Year Award winner expressed confidence in her team ahead of their match with Nigeria.
“I believe we have a chance to qualify for the Olympics. I do believe we will qualify,” she said.ย “We played Nigeria a few times and we won the last four games. We played against them; the favor is on our side. I am confident we will do well against Nigeria.”
The first leg will be played at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Friday, April 5th, before the two sides battle it out in the second leg in South Africa on April 9th.
Only two African countries will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s football tournament, with Zambia and Morocco competing for the other spot next month.
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