Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis Disappointed As South Africa Fail to Reach Olympics After Nigeria Defeat

• Banyana Banyana have failed to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris later this year
• Nigeria and South Africa shared the spoils in the second leg of their Olympic qualifier
• Desiree Ellis expressed disappointment in her team's failure to grab that elusive goal

South Africa’s dreams of qualifying for the Olympic Games in Paris later this year have been dashed.

Banyana Banyana were looking to progress to the Games by defeating Nigeria in Pretoria, but could not breach the Super Falcons' defence.

Having won the first leg 1-0, the Super Falcons needed to only avoid a defeat in order to book their place in Paris, and that’s exactly what they did.

As noted by News24, it was heartbreak for Desiree Ellis’ side as they could only draw 0-0 with Nigeria, who won the tie by a single goal on aggregate.

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Speaking after the game, Ellis admitted that it was disappointing for her team to not to have grabbed that elusive goal.

"We knew that coming into this game, we needed to score. We also knew that we needed to score as early as possible, because the longer the game went on, the more desperate we would become," she said.

Ellis added that while the South African women's nationl team were disappointed, and the fans were also let down, the country could be proud of the team as well.

"We gave it our best shot and threw the kitchen sink at them," she added.

Nigeria will now head off to the Olympic Games for the first time in 16 years and will face Spain, Japan, and Brazil in the first round.

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Sports Brief also previously reported on a humourous incident involving a South African women's football star plying her trade in Mexico's Liga MX.

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Jermiane Seoponsenwe had received a cheeky request from a user on X (formerly Twitter), which the 30-year-old expertly took in her stride.

She has not publicly disclosed her relationship status, but that has not deterred some from confessing their love for the Cape Town-born beauty.