South Africa head coach Desiree Ellis has praised Banyana Banyana striker Ronnel Donnelly after her influential showing against Nigeria, but has warned the young forward that she may not realise her full potential without increased playing time.
Goals from Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane took South Africa past the Super Falcons with a 2-1 victory at the Stade Moulay Rachid in Casablanca in Thursday's second FIFA Women's World Cup 'play-in' match, and they will now advance to FIFA's inter-confederation playoffs in November.
Donnelly had been reduced to brief substitute appearances to date at WAFCON - but was handed an unlikely start against a physical Nigeria as Ellis looked to give South Africa a greater presence up front.
The call paid off, with Donnelly playing a key role in Kgatlana's 56th-minute opener, as she held up the ball before adroitly playing in Hildah Magaia who ultimately registered the critical assist.
"We have the traditional short strikers, quick strikers, but we've shown in this tournament we can change a bit," Ellis told ESPN.
"I think both [Donnelly] and Isabella [Ludwig] give us that, where we can go long with the first ball, win the second ball, and play it from there.
"Our goal came from holding up the ball, she played the role really well."
Donnelly entered last year's WAFCON tipped to become South Africa's next young superstar, but now 22, is still finding her feet after an injury-ravaged year in which she suffered a meniscus tear and ACL sprain in August.
Following surgery, the road to recovery proved arduous, with the youngster only returning to action for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in early July.
"Ronnel's coming back from a very long-term injury," Ellis concluded. "She's just come back, and probably played some minutes in two games, but we felt that she'd add value to the team.
"When we brought her last year, she showed glimpses of that, and now she's shown a little bit more.
"She's a fantastic human being. Sometimes we have to calm her down because she's very young, but she's eager to learn, eager to listen, eager to do things.
"Getting into the final third, sometimes [we] make the wrong decisions; I think there was a moment where we won the ball on the left and Ronnel took a shot, but we'd had two players in very good positions on the right if only she'd played it across.
"So there are some of these things, but they only happen when you play together often."
While Ellis remains excited about Donnelly's potential, she has urged caution that the striker needs consistent playing time -- particularly after losing the best part of a year of development -- if she's to become the complete centre forward that Banyana are desperate to call upon.
"I think she can only develop more as a player, it's all about the minutes and the gametime," Ellis concluded. "I think she can only develop [from here].
"Her club now go to the CAF Champions League, and I think she'll get a lot more gametime.
"She's just recovered from an injury that she picked up in last year's Champions League, so we're just happy to see her back. She's another young one with really bright potential."
Two-time CAF Champions League winners Sundowns have been drawn alongside Nsinginzini Hotspurs, CD Costa do Sol and Silver Strikers Ladies in the COSAFA Qualifiers for the 2026 edition of the competition.