Fresh suffering an injury blow where they lost start striker and influential forward Thembi Kgatlana to injury, Banyana Banyana have now comfirmed that they have a number of players who have tested positive for Covid-19 in their squad.
Kgatlana has been ruled out of the tournament and is due for an operation.
Despite the setbacks, the South African were in high spirits at their first training session after the group stages – they have to put those behind them and focus on the mission at hand.
“Look, players are friends with Thembi, she has been in the team for a very long time but there are also players that are much closer to her. They have responded very well. We know why we are here, losing Thembi was a huge blow, but we lost Gabby before the tournament and people stepped up. I know Thembi is a top-quality player but it’s also an opportunity to step up. Other countries have also lost players, Nigeria lost Asisat (Oshoala) and Botswana lost a player as well, so it’s another opportunity for someone else to step up,” Banyana Banyaan head coach Desiree Ellis told www.safa.net
“We know why we are here. We just reminded the players why we’re here and Thembi also reminded the players that the journey continues. We know our first aim is to qualify for the World Cup and that game is almost upon us. We selected a squad for every eventuality and even though we didn’t expect this, now the versatility has got to come through and show – and what I saw today training was really encouraging.”
With Kgatlana no longer part of the plans going forward, the Banyana Banyana technical team are making plans to get ready for their next assignment – the quarterfinal clash against Tunisia on Thursday, with a place in the World Cup tournament up for grabs.
South African maintained a hundred percent record in the group stages, winning all three matches, and want to take the momentum to the next round.
“You always want to keep the momentum going and we wanted to make sure that we don’t leave it to the calculators and the permutations, because at half time we knew that Nigeria was winning three nil, so we wanted to make sure that we keep that top position, that also gives you confidence, and it gives you a lot of momentum,” said Ellis.
“I think that it was important to continue with that momentum going into the next game, which is the big one – the quarterfinal. There’s no second chance, there’s no three points and you know this is a game where you’ve got to give your all to make sure that we reach first objective, which is obviously to qualify for the World Cup.”
By Matlhomola Morake
