Nigeria broke Banyana Banyana’s hearts when they secured a narrow 1-0 win on aggregate to book their place at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The game at Loftus ended goalless after 90 minutes, but the Nigerians go through thanks to winning last week’s first leg 1-0.
Tuesday’s game in the capital was not a classic to write home about as Nigeria were happy to sit back and protect their slender lead from the first leg.
⏹️ 𝙁𝙐𝙇𝙇-𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 ⏹️
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) April 9, 2024
No Olympic Games ❌ for Banyana Banyana 🇿🇦 as the Super Falcons qualify for #Paris2024 with a 1-0 aggregate win.#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/xGORMVWSpQ
The two teams, ranked number one and two on the continent, were looking to get back to the Olympics having missed out on the 2020 Tokyo games, which took place in 2021 due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
South Africa’s last appearance at the games was at Rio de Jainero in 2016, while Nigeria’s last Olympics Games appearance was at Beijing in 2008.
While South Africa showed more urgency between the two sides, the first half was a low key affair as chances were few and far between.
📊 𝔽𝕌𝕃𝕃-𝕋𝕀𝕄𝔼 𝕊𝕋𝔸𝕋𝕀𝕊𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕊 📊
𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 🇿🇦 0⃣➖0⃣ 🇳🇬 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚
[𝙰𝚐𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚎 0⃣➖1⃣]
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📺 SABC Sport & SABC 3
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📱 SABC+#SABCSportFootball #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/uLnqrVTZSi
As the second half wore on, the South Africans started to grow in confidence, which resulted in Nigeria taking the cautious approach to the encounter.
However, Desiree Ellis’ team just could not find the final ball to create an opening. Hilda Magaia thought she was brought down in the box on the hour mark, but the referee waved it on.
As South Africa kept pushing, the Nigerian defence seemed to remain strong to contain the threat, which frustrated the home side as they searched for an equaliser to get back into the tie.
🎙️ ℂ𝕆𝔸ℂℍ'𝕊 ℝ𝔼𝔸ℂ𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ 🎙️
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) April 9, 2024
🗣️ "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴"
Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis after failing to qualify for #Paris2024.#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/r4mEQdtkKF
Thembi Kgatlana was kept quiet by the Nigerian defence, and she never really got going during the encounter.
Unfortunately, the African champions were unable to find the goal, and the game ended in a stalemate to send Nigeria to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
IOL Sport