Nigeria will tackle South Africa in Pretoria on Tuesday night with the mindset of sustaining a record of never having lost to South Africa in that country in senior women’s football.
The gap has become much closer since their first meeting on 19th March, 1995, when the Super Falcons humiliated the Banyana 7-1 in front of their fans in Johannesburg in a 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying match. Yet, the fact remains that the Banyana are still looking for their first win over the Falcons in any match played in South Africa.
In 24 previous encounters (with seven played in South Africa), Nigeria has won 15, with five ending in draws and South Africa winning on four occasions. One of the drawn games was the final match of the 11th Women Africa Cup of Nations, which Nigeria eventually won 4-3 after a penalty shootout in Accra.
South Africa’s four wins have been in Bata, Equatorial Guinea (1-0, 2012 Women AFCON); Cape Coast, Ghana (1-0, 2018 Women AFCON); Lagos, Nigeria (4-2, Aisha Buhari Cup); and Rabat, Morocco (2-1, 2022 Women AFCON).
Of the seven previous encounters inside South Africa, Nigeria has won five and drawn two.
The only times the Banyana have been able to hold the Falcons in South Africa were on 12th March, 2004 (the Athens Olympics qualifier, which ended 2-2) and a friendly match on 3rd June, 2012, that ended 1-1.
The Super Falcons’ delegation for Tuesday’s all-important match arrived in Pretoria on Monday morning, and have settled down in their hotel ahead of their official training at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s match will kick off at 7.30 p.m. South African time (6.30 p.m. Nigerian time).
Captain Rasheedat Ajibade has scored Nigeria’s last two goals against Banyana. She got the consolation goal in the 2-1 defeat by the arch-rivals in Rabat on 4th July, 2022, and also converted the penalty that accounted for the win over the visitors in Abuja on Friday evening.
Head-to-head
4 Mar 1995: Nigeria 4 South Africa 1 (WCQ)
19 Mar 1995: South Africa 1 Nigeria 7 (WCQ)
25 Nov 2000: South Africa 0 Nigeria 2 (OLYQ)
18 Dec 2002: Nigeria 5 South Africa 0 (WAFCON)
30 Mar 2003: South Africa 0 Nigeria 3 (Friendly)
11 Oct 2003: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (AAG)
12 Mar 2004: South Africa 2 Nigeria 2 (OLYQ)
28 Mar 2004: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (OLYQ)
9 July 2007: South Africa 2 Nigeria 2 (AAG)
18 July 2007: South Africa 0 Nigeria 4 (AAG)
28 July 2008: Nigeria 5 South Africa 0 (OLYQ)
12 Aug 2008: South Africa 0 Nigeria 1 (OLYQ)
22 Nov 2008: South Africa 0 Nigeria 1 (WAFCON)
4 Nov 2010: South Africa I Nigeria 2 (WAFCON)
3 June 2012: South Africa 1 Nigeria 1 (Friendly)
23 June 2012: Nigeria 0 South Africa 0 (Friendly)
7 Nov 2012: South Africa 1 Nigeria 0 (WAFCON)
22 Oct 2014: South Africa 1 Nigeria 2 (WAFCON)
29 Nov 2016: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (WAFCON)
18 Nov 2018: South Africa 1 Nigeria 0 (WAFCON)
1 Dec 2018: Nigeria 0 South Africa 0 (WAFCON)–Nigeria triumphed 4-3 penalties
21 Sept 2021: Nigeria 2 South Africa 4 (Aisha Buhari Cup)
4 July 2022: South Africa 2 Nigeria 1 (WAFCON)
5 April 2024: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (OLYQ)
Support PREMIUM TIMES’ journalism of integrity and credibility
Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.
Donate
TEXT AD: Call Willie – +2348098788999
