African women’s football powerhouses Nigeria and South Africa will face off in Casablanca on Thursday, with both sides fighting to keep their hopes of reaching the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup alive.
The two teams were knocked out in the WAFCON quarter-finals, despite entering the tournament among the continent’s leading contenders. South Africa were beaten 2–1 by hosts Morocco, while Nigeria suffered a 1–0 loss to Cameroon.
The quarter-final winners secured automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, leaving both Nigeria and South Africa to pursue the remaining qualification route through the play-offs.
Thursday’s winner will move into a six-team preliminary stage of the Inter-Confederation play-offs. The successful teams from that stage will then join four nations that have received direct byes in the final play-off round.
Three teams will eventually secure World Cup places from the final six-team tournament through single-elimination matches.
That means either Nigeria or South Africa must overcome several hurdles after Thursday’s encounter to secure a place at the global tournament.
Both teams will be disappointed after missing out on automatic qualification, but victory in Casablanca would keep their World Cup ambitions alive.
Match details
- Match: Nigeria vs South Africa
- Date: Thursday, August 13, 2026
- Time: 9:00 p.m. WAT
- Venue: Stade Moulay Rachid, Casablanca, Morocco
- Broadcast: AfroSport in Nigeria, SABC in South Africa and SuperSport across the region.
