Nigeria, Aug. 13 -- The Super Falcons of Nigeria and Banyana Banyana of South Africa meet again on Thursday with their 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, in a high-stakes CAF play-off that neither side expected to be playing.

The two African heavyweights were supposed to be preparing for the already played Wednesday WAFCON semi-finals and automatic qualification for the World Cup in Brazil. Instead, both suffered quarter-final defeats and must now fight through another route to keep their global ambitions alive.

Nigeria were beaten 1-0 by Cameroon, while South Africa lost 2-1 to hosts Morocco. The four quarter-final winners secured automatic World Cup qualification, leaving Nigeria and South Africa among the defeated...