The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana has not had ideal preparations for their upcoming clash against the DR Congo in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualifiers, but they are confident of getting an away victory to set them up nicely for the return leg.
The second round first leg clash against the Central African nation takes place at on Wednesday (25 October) Stade des Martyrs in the capital Kinshasa.
Kickoff is at 16h30 South African time.
It has been a challenging period for Head Coach Desiree Ellis and her technical team with players unavailable due to a variety of reasons – injury, exams and travel documents.
But now they have to put that behind them and face the hosts, who progressed to the second round through a walkover after Mozambique withdrew from the qualifiers in July this year.
This has not stopped the South Africans from getting intel on their opponents, with the main aim of getting an away win to ease the pressure for Banyana Banyana’s home leg.
DR Congo, who are chasing their first Olympic ticket, played the first round of the 2024 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, defeating Benin home and away by the same score line of 2-1.
“It’s a big game and it’s an away game for us. We are looking to get a positive result to make the home league easier, but we know it’s not going to be easy. They had a very good result against Benin, so we know it’s going to be a difficult game, but I feel we have enough in our team to be able to get a positive result,” Ellis told the media in Kinshasa.
“We have an idea of how the opposition plays as we have seen some footage of their games, like they probably have seen ours. We have a few changes in our squad though, and we will not underestimate the Congolese team because we know the quality that they have, but we’re ready for the match. I believe we have the players that can make the difference and we want to make sure that we get that positive result – and for that to happen we should not concede, and we need to make sure that when we get opportunities, we put it in the back of the net.”
The South Africans have been to back-to-back Olympic Games – London 2012 and Rio 2016 – but were denied a third successive appearance by neighbours Botswana, and missed out on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, something they haven’t forgotten.
“I think on its own it’s a big motivation given the fact that we didn’t qualify for the last one it was very sad for us and most people that were there the last time I hear now and I think for everyone it’s a box that we need to take we’ve been to the Afghan we’ve been to the World Cup and we did so well and it’s important to just continue with that form,” Kholosa
“I mean we don’t need any motivation to be honest, I think the disappointment in 2020 has to be the full force, it wasn’t nice to stay at home and not go to the Olympics now here’s a chance. We have no excuse of why we shouldn’t qualify, the last four years we did so good, last year we went to WAFCON then we went and had a good World Cup, so really there’s no excuse from us why we shouldn’t qualify. Mentally we have to be strong than all the other games we played,” added Thembi Kgatlana.
The match will also mark the beginning of the end of an era – with long-serving defending Janine van Wyk closing the chapter on an illustrious career in the national team after 18 years.
She will call time on her international career after the second leg in South Africa.
“There are actually a lot of mixed emotions knowing that 18 years with the national team is now coming to an end. I have two games left for the national team and it’s been an honour and privilege representing the green and gold, but also very excited to see what the future holds for me outside of the national team set up. It’s two games and I’m really trying to enjoy each and every single moment, embrace the moment and get to play and be with my teammates and coaches, and just loving each and every minute with being with the team,” said Van Wyk.
She was also part of the team that missed out on the last Olympics in Tokyo, after captaining the squad in Rio in 2016.
“This is a very important game, the start of the Olympic qualifiers – something that we missed out on previously. Being African champions and having done so extremely well at the World Cup, it’s almost expected that we qualify for the Olympics to feature at another major tournament, and that’s the only way that we can improve as a team, as a football nation and in the league. So, we have to come out and not underestimate the opponent that is ranked 111th in the FIFA rankings, but just take the 90 minutes, try, and get the best result that we can,” added van Wyk.
“We are expecting a very physical match because we know when you play on the continent everyone gives their best against us. They are playing at their home ground so they’re not going to hold back or sit back, they’re going to try and come with full force against us. We have the experience, and that should count in this match. For us to get a good result, we should play our normal game, our style of football where we keep the ball as much as we can, make use of the chances that we get. We also need to be as patient as possible in order to get that goal, but I think once we get it, hopefully we get it nice and early, we can settle down and play our football and not concede anything.”
Banyana Banyana return home on Thursday, 26 October to continue preparations for the second leg which will be played on Monday, 30 October 2023 at Orlando Stadium.
Kickoff is at 15h00 and entry is free.
By Matlhomola Morake
