1 June 2026 – The South African U17 Women’s National team is through to the third and final round of the 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers after playing to a goalless draw against Tanzania in the second leg second round clash played at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville on Sunday.
Bantwana won 2-0 on aggregate, but it was not an easy day in the office in Atteridgeville with the visitors pushing the hosts all the way. When the defence was bridged, goalkeeper Dakalo Mafumo stood firm, thwarting several attempts made by Tanzania to keep the scoreline intact.
The home side had some chances to consolidate their lead but could not find the back the of the net. In the end they shared the spoils with Tanzania, enough to see the hosts through to the next round.
“As I had said before this was going to be a very difficult game, and it proved to be like that. Credit must go to the defence and the goalkeeper who worked tirelessly amidst relentless attacks from Tanzania. It was very difficult to penetrate them, but the good thing is we were able to deny them any goals as that would have probably brought them back into the game,” said Bantwana Head Coach, Ntombifuthi Khumalo.
South Africa will now face Kenya in the final round of the qualifiers scheduled to be played between 3 -13 July in a two-legged affair.
The East Africans edged out fellow CECAFA member nation Uganda following a goalless draw in the second leg, winning by an away goal rule, thanks to a 1-1 draw in the first fixture.
“This is really special for us to get to this stage, and I believe we have a strong enough team to go all the way, and also because the players are hungry for a spot at the World Cup. We have seen how Kenya plays and we will go and prepare accordingly for that big match, but for now we will celebrate today’s success and regroup later in June,” added Khumalo.
The 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup will be played from 17 October to 7 November and hosted by Morocco.
Africa has been allocated five spots, and only four tickets remain as Morocco qualify automatically.
REMAINING THIRD ROUND FIXTURES:
South vs Kenya
Zambia vs Ethiopia
Senegal vs Ghana
Nigeria vs Benin
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