Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says she will select the full-strength team when they tackle neighbours Botswana in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations last Group C match in Morocco this evening. Banyana will be looking to finish on top of Group C and carry the momentum going into the quarterfinals.
Banyana Banyana has already qualified for the quarterfinals, after beating the defending champions Nigeria and Burundi in their opening two matches.
The expectation was that they will rest some of the key players and give fringe players an opportunity to play. However, the full-strength team will be selected against Botswana, to ensure finishing on top of Group C and carrying momentum going into the quarterfinals.
“We know the qualities that they can bring. We saw two different types of football that they can play in the first game. It was very open in the second game. They sat a lot back and try to catch Nigeria on the counter and we know that’s how they play with the results going against them. They are looking for a point. So, it might be similar where we try to break them down, but we will make sure that we work on those things and try to be clinical in front of the goal.”
“In the game that we lost to them, we created opportunities but did not score. We have a clean bill of health at the moment which is fantastic. Everybody is back in training. We will pick the strongest team to give us momentum going into the quarterfinals”, says Ellis.
Botswana are lying third in the group with three points after two matches behind Nigeria on goal difference. They will not be pushovers after they eliminated South Africa in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers three years ago.
Avoiding another heartbreaking defeat
“We don’t have to take them lightly because we know the story of 2019. We just have to take each game step by step. We know Botswana is not going to be an easy team, as we saw yesterday against Burundi. So, we just have to go there and play our normal game because the aim is to top the group and be number one in the group so that we know that we have done our job”, says Banyana defender Noko Matlou.
Banyana will be looking to win the tournament for the first time despite being in the final on five occasions.
They will also be looking to reach the semi-finals, and qualify for their second FIFA World Cup, which will be in Australia and New Zealand next year.
Banyana will be counting on their skillful players to see them through against their neighbours.
“We have skillful players like Jermain, Thembi and Hilda so it’s not going to be the same. We have Plan B and if Plan B is not working, then plan a sure, it’s gonna work, so we are looking forward to the game. It’s not going to be an easy one but definitely, we will get three points”, says defender Bambanani Mbane.
The match will kick off at 10pm South Africa time. Report by Vincent Sitsula
Desiree Ellis interview 20 June 2022, says Banyana are gunning to win the 2022 AWCON title:
