South Africa coach Desiree Ellis is keen to get a positive result when her side face Nigeria in what she has tagged as a ‘tough battle’ in the final round of qualifiers for the women’s football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Nine-time African champions, Super Falcons, will host the reigning continental champions in Abuja on Friday (today), with the return leg in Pretoria four days later.
South Africa beat the Super Falcons en route to winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, and now the countries meet again for a ticket to Paris and Ellis is expecting a tough battle but targets a positive result in Abuja.
“It’s like you are in the last round of a boxing match, a 12-round fight, where the winner succeeds and the loser goes home,” Ellis said.
“Nigeria are still one of the best teams on the continent. We know how big the game is. We don’t need to motivate the players, but we are excited. We need to get a positive result to take the pressure off us, coming home in the second leg.”
Banyana are aiming to qualify for the Games for the third time, after appearing in 2012 and 2016, while the Falcons are seeking a return to the Olympics for the first time since 2008.
“Having missed out (on the Olympics) in 2020, won the Wafcon and gone to the last 16 of the World Cup, this is one of the boxes as a group we haven’t ticked,” Ellis added.
Banyana Banyana stalwart Noko Matlou, 38, has vowed to give her all to make sure she attends the Olympics in Paris saying, “It would be my last Olympics if we qualify, so it’s very important that I give my all to make sure we secure our spot there (in Paris).”
Matlou was part of the Banyana squads in their previous appearances at the Games in London (2012) and Rio (2016).
“This encounter against Nigeria is very important. It’s also very important for us to qualify for the Olympics since we missed out on the last edition,” the 2008 CAF Women’s Footballer of the Year said.
Matlou said they are trying by all means to make the younger generation in the squad understand the significance of the clash against Nigeria.
“As experienced players, we are working very hard in making sure we drive the message to the youngsters that this game is crucial. We are stressing that they must learn as much as they can from us,” Matlou said.
Meanwhile, midfielder Amogelang Motau added that the team has adapted to Nigerian conditions saying, “We’ve been in Nigeria for several days now. The spirit in camp is very high. We’ve acclimatised and we are used to the weather.”
The winners of the tie will take the last spot in Group C in Paris, alongside Spain, Japan and Brazil. The Olympics will take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11.
