Paris 2024: South Africa’s Desiree Ellis reveals secret to beating Nigeria’s Super Falcons – “We know we are better”

Head coach of the South African women’s national team, Desiree Ellis, has revealed that the Banyana Banyana have perfected strategies needed to overcome Nigeria on Tuesday, Soccernet.ng reports.

The two teams meet in the second leg of the 2024 CAF Women’s Olympic qualifiers at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, with Nigeria holding a slim advantage.

The Super Falcons claimed a 1-0 win in Abuja in the first leg four days ago, courtesy of a fine first-half penalty converted by Atletico Madrid midfielder Rasheedat Ajibade.

Nigeria could have won by a wider margin, having dominated a sluggish South African side that struggled to match the Falcons until the closing stages of the tie.

Ellis admits her girls were not good enough in Abuja, but she reveals the Banyana Banyana are desperate to show they are a much better outfit than what fans saw last Friday.

The 61-year-old tactician knows the Super Falcons will not be an easy hurdle, but she insists netting an early goal would be key for South Africa.

“Looking forward to the game tomorrow, we have looked at the footage [first game] as well,” Ellis told Safa.net.

“We know we are better than what we showed in Nigeria. We can do way better than that, and I think the second half showed how well we can play. It is a match we have to win.

“We have to put everything into it to make sure that we get the goal early to be able to kickstart from there. We know it won’t be easy, Nigeria got the one goal advantage and we have to prepare for every eventuality.”

The Super Falcons have never lost to the Banyana Banyana on South African soil, securing a win and a draw in two previous meetings.