Super Falcons head coach Justine Madugu and his South African counterpart Desiree Ellis are braced for a fierce battle as Nigeria and South Africa go head-to-head in the semi-finals of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations at the Stade Larbi Zaouli in Casablanca today.
The encounter brings together two of the continent’s footballing heavyweights: nine-time champions Nigeria and reigning title holders South Africa.
While Nigeria have historically dominated this rivalry, with eight wins from their 11 WAFCON meetings and a 16-5 goal advantage, South Africa have closed the gap in recent years.
Banyana Banyana famously beat the Falcons during the group stage of the 2022 edition en route to clinching their first continental title.
Madugu acknowledged the significant progress made by Ellis’s side and stressed the need to respect the quality they now bring to the table.
“They have a very good team,” Madugu said. “For them to have won all their games to get here, obviously, we must appreciate and respect what they have done. So, we are not taking that for granted.
“Football games can be very deceiving sometimes. You don’t judge teams based on what you see, particularly in their last game. They are the defending champions. They took the crown from us, and we want to do the same.”
South Africa coach Ellis, meanwhile, remains confident her team can rise to the occasion again, drawing on their recent successes against Nigeria.
“We know what this match means. We know what it takes to beat Nigeria,” Ellis told CAF Online. “It’s like a derby where you know who you’re up against.
Players know the strength of Nigeria. So I don’t think any extra motivation is needed. The semi-final is motivation enough, but the rivalry adds more fire.”
Both coaches are currently leading their sides under unusual conditions, with neither having formal contracts in place with their respective federations.
Despite the uncertainty, they have successfully guided their teams to the brink of the final.
Nigeria come into the tie with attacking momentum, having scored nine goals in four matches—second only to hosts Morocco. The Super Falcons beat Tunisia 3-0, edged Botswana 1-0, were held to a goalless draw by Algeria, and crushed Zambia 5-0 in the quarter-finals.
South Africa, on the other hand, opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Ghana, drew 1-1 with Tanzania, and bounced back with a commanding 4-0 win over Mali.
They needed penalties to get past Senegal in the quarter-finals after a goalless draw in regulation time.
Adding further spice to today’s encounter is the lingering rivalry from the 2024 Olympic qualifiers, where Nigeria edged South Africa 1-0 on aggregate to secure a place in Paris, denying Banyana Banyana a second consecutive Olympic appearance.
Madugu underlined the psychological readiness of his team ahead of the high-stakes clash.
“With every game, there’s always pressure—the pressure of wanting to win and the pressure from the opposition,” he said. “But we are managing ourselves well. We’re not allowing it to distract or unsettle the team. The girls are fully focused. We all know what is at stake, and we’ll make our country proud.”
With a place in Sunday’s final on the line, both teams will be eager to take a decisive step toward African football’s biggest prize.