South Africa rolled back the years with a quality performance in Thursday's 2-1 win over Nigeria in Casablanca that wrapped up a place in the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup Inter-Confederation playoffs, but their consistency will be severely tested from here.
Thursday night was a reminder that this team possesses quality in abundance. But it would be dishonest to claim that the victory -- courtesy of Thembi Kgatlana's 56th minute opener and Refiloe Jane's 77th minute strike, deflected off Christy Ucheibe -- was expected.
The Super Falcons were left shellshocked, and even when Ucheibe scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time after Jane was sent off for handball, Justin Madugu's side could not recover.
Goalkeeper Kaylin Swart completed a remarkable turnaround from being benched for Banyana's opener against Tanzania as she made several point-blank saves to keep South Africa in the hunt for a place in Brazil next year.
This was a performance led primarily by Banyana's veterans, although 22-year-old Ronnel Donnelly played a key role in orchestrating the break which led to South Africa's first goal -- passing to Hildah Magaia, who squared for Kgatlana.
Donnelly aside, this was a win led by players who had mostly proven themselves years prior, but were not expected to pull together tonight for one more hurrah.
Only two months ago, Banyana were similarly surprisingly brilliant in a 1-0 win over Japan - who had beaten them 5-0 only three days earlier.
Banyana's resilience is worth celebrating, but if they hope to qualify for the World Cup, they will need to find their consistency again.
The preliminary round of Inter-Confederation qualifiers will see Desiree Ellis' side play three games over the November/December window. Progression to the final round will require finishing as one of the top two teams out of the six in the preliminaries.
If they advance to the final round, Banyana will then have to survive a straight knockout tie in February to secure their place in Brazil.
The convoluted qualification structure means that Banyana simply cannot afford to rely on moments of magic; they will have to hit the ground running and stay consistent over the course of a qualification tournament.
South Africa's Hollywoodbets Super League - which started two months later than expected this season - simply does not afford the vast majority of the Banyana squad a good enough platform to retain complete sharpness heading into the qualification tournament.
By the time it starts, Banyana might have lost the cohesion they gradually gained over the course of this year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
Until South Africa has a professional women's league to rival Morocco's, their best hope is for players to earn moves abroad. They travelled to this year's WAFCON with only four players contracted to clubs outside of South Africa, and it is doubtful that many young players would have truly stood out to scouts.
At least Donnelly was able to silence critics with important performances against Ivory Coast in a 2-2 group stage draw and now the Super Falcons in a crucial win. Her link-up play created chances for Hildah Magaia and Thembi Kgatlana to spare Banyana's blushes at pivotal moments.
South African fans can only hope that there is more to come in the near future from the other young players Ellis has been attempting to ease into her squad.
In the playoffs, Banyana will be joined by Ghana, Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei, Venezuela, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, two teams from the CONCACAF region, and one from Europe. One of Venezuela and Ecuador will receive a bye to the final round along with the European team and both CONCACAF sides.
Progress to the final round looks doable for Banyana Banyana, but when they come up against a stronger side there (if they do get through), their ability to pick up where they left off despite limited preparation will be given a major test.
For now, at least, the golden generation lives to fight another day.