What South Africa must do to beat Super Falcons – Banyana Banyana defender reveals

South Africa defender Lebohang Ramalepe has called on her teammates to show mental toughness when Banyana Banyana face Nigeria’s Super Falcons in a 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification play-in match.

The two African giants will meet on Thursday at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca, with the winner moving closer to securing a place at the global tournament.

Neither side managed to secure automatic qualification after suffering quarter-final defeats at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

South Africa were beaten 2-1 by hosts Morocco, while Nigeria suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Cameroon.

With so much at stake, Ramalepe believes the psychological aspect of the encounter could prove decisive.

The Banyana Banyana defender urged her teammates to forget the disappointment of their quarter-final defeat and concentrate fully on the opportunity still available to them.

“What is required is mental toughness. As a team, we just need to ask ourselves: ‘what is it that we want?’” Ramalepe told ESPN.

The South African international warned against approaching the fixture with a negative mindset.

According to Ramalepe, the team must understand that their World Cup dream remains alive and that they still have an opportunity to achieve their objective.

She added, “If we go into the next match with the mentality of ‘all is lost’… no, we still have a chance; all is not lost. We just need to stay focused, be mentally sharp and take it as a final match.”

The match is scheduled to kick off at 9 p.m. Nigerian time at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca.