Following Banyana Banyana's failure to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics after defeat to Nigeria, there are three elements that could have led to them not getting over the line.
Banyana were in the final CAF qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Games against Nigeria and after a 1-0 defeat in the first-leg away, Desiree Ellis' charges could not overturn the result, after playing to a goalless draw in the second leg at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
The Super Falcons therefore advanced 1-0 on aggregate.
South Africa failed to qualify for the second consecutive time after also missing out on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
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The West Africans, on the other hand, qualified for the Olympics for the first time since 2008.
Former Banyana captain Portia Modise was not convinced by the performance of the team in the second leg and says South Africa only have themselves to blame as the Nigerian team had "nothing" to offer.
Modise pointed out to Banyana lacking leadership and creativity on the field.
"I'm hurt. It's the first time I see such a weak Nigeria since I started to play women's football. We needed to beast that team, they had nothing to scare us. They couldn't trap, they can't even do five touches," Modise said on Metro FM Sports.
"That is not the Nigeria we used to play with. The Nigeria that we used to play with was a stronger one. I believe the last 16 minutes Nigeria was tired. But we didn't have leaders on the ground, people who would take over and wake up other teammates.
"We don't have skillful players. That defence ngayirhalela.
(I salivated for it) sitting on the sofa," the former SA Sports Star of the Year added.
Meanwhile, Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum, said in his post-match interview that Banyana "talked too much" before the two-legged final qualifier, but he was confident they could cause an upset mainly through their defensive organization.
"We were much more organized than the previous time we played them, that's why I felt confident going into these two games. South Africa talked a lot before the matches, how they were gonna do this and that, and we just kept quiet," Waldrum told the media after the goalless draw at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
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"I believed in our team and I knew that we would be a hard team to break down even with their talent and the thing that you hope is you can finish off the few opportunities to advance, and I think that's what we did," he added.
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