Banyana’s Ellis on World Cup chances – ‘It will be crucial how we plan’
· Citizen
Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis says planning will be crucial as the side prepare to take another shot at qualifying for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
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Banyana get another World Cup chance
Banyana’s 2-1 win over Nigeria on Thursday night in Casablanca sent them into the inter-continental play-offs, which will ultimately give three sides a place at Brazil 2027.
Ellis’ side will now play in the preliminary round of inter-continental qualifying, along with Ghana, Uzebekistan, Chinese Taipei, Papua New Guinea and Ecuador.
Each of these teams will play three matches, which are scheduled to take place in November and December. At the end of that, the top two teams in the six-team group will go into the final round of qualifying, which is set for February 2027.
The final round of play-offs will consist of three matches that will ultimately decide which three nations go to Brazil.
While the draw for the preliminary round of intercontinental qualifying has not taken place yet, Banyana will not be able to play Ghana, as sides from the same confederation cannot face each other.
“It will be crucial now how we plan,” said Ellis, after goals from Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane were enough to take Banyana past the Super Falcons.
“We play Madagascar in an Olympic qualifier in October, then obviously we have to look at how to strengthen the squad, and to work on a few things we need to work on.”
Banyana’s overall performance at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco was inconsistent.
An opening defeat to Tanzania put them on the back foot, and while they recovered to make the quarterfinals, defeat to Morocco ended their chances of automatic qualification for the Women’s World Cup.
Still, Ellis’ side did superbly to grab the lifeline on offer, and the Banyana head coach believes the time now to prepare for the play-offs can help her team.
‘A long, hard couple of weeks’
“It has been a long, hard couple of weeks and the bodies have taken a toll,” said Ellis.
“It is a good time to regroup. We have a (Olympic) qualifier in October and the (Hollywood Bets Super) league has only just started. That is probably a reason why we are where we are as a team.”
The league, indeed, will be in full flow by the time October comes around. Banyana will play Madagascar over two legs between October 5-13 in the start of their campaign to qualify for LA 2028.