Gamede Backs South Africa To Revive 2027 Women’s World Cup Hopes Using Nigeria

Banyana Banyana defender Bongeka Gamede believes South Africa can still qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup despite their quarter-final defeat to Morocco at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

Naija News reports that South Africa lost 2-1 to hosts Morocco, while Nigeria suffered a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in the other quarter-final, leaving both teams without automatic World Cup qualification.

The 2026 WAFCON is also being used as the African qualifying tournament for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, with further opportunities available through the inter-confederation play-offs.

Nigeria will face South Africa in the CAF play-offs on Thursday, August 13. The winner will feature in the inter-confederation play-offs, which will produce three teams for the remaining slots for the World Cup.

Gamede, however, insists South Africa’s hopes are still alive and urged her teammates to remain focused on the remaining qualification route.

“Definitely it’s not over…we have another opportunity, and that should be the motivation. We must remain fully focused and believe that the dream is still there,” Gamede insisted.

Speaking to Sowetan, the defender also rejected suggestions that South Africa’s defensive display against Morocco exposed a major problem within the team. She argued that conceding goals is a collective issue rather than one that should be blamed solely on the defenders.

“I don’t think I can say there’s something wrong. Everyone who knows football knows that football is like this; you can’t always be at the top,” she said.

“Conceding starts from how you press, so we can’t really say as defenders we are to blame because we play as a team.”