1 October 2017 – The South African Women’s U20 national team cruised past Namibia with a comfortable 4-0 scoreline to progress into the next round of FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers in the return leg played at the Sam Nojuma Stadium in Windhoek, Namibia.
Basetsana secured their place in the next round with a 9-0 aggregate as a result of their 5-0 victory at home fortnight ago.
The evergreen, Linda Mothlalo again found the back of the net twice while Gabriella Salgado and Ntombifiikile Ndlovu put the match beyond reach for the Young Gladiators.
The South Africans wasted no time in getting off their starting blocks with their swift passing movement which was a clear indication of the long day that was in store for the hosts.
Basetsana playmaker and captain, Motlhalo was the first to ask questions of the keeper after dribbling past two defenders to send a stinging effort that rattled the crossbar in the 15th minute.
Ndlovu, who was making her debut for Basetsana justified her selection with a pin point pass that found Gabriala Salgado in the 30th minute who fired home with the oncoming keeper.
The combination of Ndlovu and Motlhalo in the middle pf the park proved to be a headache for Namibia when the two combined well from deep right up to their opponent’s box for Motlhalo to comfortably find the second goal in the 40th minute.
Basetsana could have went into the break three nil up after Modikanalo Mashigo squandered a golden opportunity in the last minute of the half after being found by a delightful cross from Sinoxolo Cesane but sent her volley wide of goal.
The visitors wasted no time in continuing where they left off in the second half. A free kick from outside the box saw Motlhalo sending a quality shot that caught the keeper napping to make it 3-0 to the South Africans.
With the match totally beyond reach for Namibia, Ndlovu hammered the final nail in the coffin with a quality finish from inside the box in the 71st minute to give Basetsana a 9-0 aggregate into the next round of qualifiers.
Basetsana will now face off against Burundi in November after Rwanda pulled out of the qualifiers.