Head coach of the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana, Desiree Ellis, is in currently in Auckland, New Zealand where she was attending the draw for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
She was in the room when one of the draw assistants, former Cameroon international, Geremi Njitab, drew South Africa in Group G alongside 1995 champions Sweden, Italy and Argentina.
Banyana Banyana have never played against the latter two nations, but are very familiar with the Swedes – who they have met on several occasions.
The first time was at the 2012 Olympic Games in London under former coach Joseph Mkhonza, where South Africa went down 4-1 with the retired Portia Modise scoring the consolation goal.
Despite what seems like a tough draw, several South Africans have expressed confidence in the African Champions progressing to the next round.
Janine van Wyk: Banyana Banyana co-captain
“I think it’s a very interesting and exciting draw for us. We play two teams that we have never competed against before and a team we know is probably one of the favourites of the tournament. I believe we stand a really good chance to get out of the group stages if we prepare well and play our cards right. It’s going to be a highly competitive tournament all round and probably one of the best and exciting FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament.”
Andile Dlamini: Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies & Banyana Banyana goalkeeper
“Very tight one, we must work extremely hard, now we know who we are playing against, and the coach will plan well and as player we need to work 10 times extra. As we are going to the festive season, we can’t relax but keep on working – since there will be no football we must continue working because we are going to face fantastic teams in terms of football, so it is not going to be easy. The only thing we need to do is to make sure we focus on us, we focus on bettering ourselves – before the coaches call and say do this, we must do it ourselves.”
Simphiwe Dludlu: Former Banyana Banyana captain and current U17 Women’s National Team Head Coach
“I think it’s a tough group we are drawn in, Sweden is number two in the world, Italy lies in 14th position while the Argentinians are 29th – these rankings put those teams ahead of us but if we pick our opposition well for preparation we should be able to compete. We need enough time together, training at an even higher level to challenge ourselves better than the WAFCON. The friendlies against Brazil and Australia were good shock for our team to see how far we’ve come since 2019 and how much further we can push in 2023.”
Dean Somerset: Sponsorship Manager: Sasol
“I’m rather pleased that the draw is over, so that the team can now focus on its preparation and intensify its efforts. No draw was going to be a walk in the park as we are talking about the best of global women’s football. As Sasol, we just want to wish Coach Des, her technical team and the entire squad well for the road leading up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. We will be there every step of the way to give them the necessary support on this important journey for the players and the entire country. This is the time to #livetheimpossible and we believe Banyana Banyana will do well.”
Jerry Tshabalala – Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Head Coach:
“For us South Africans it is a very tough draw. You play Sweden and they are ranked among the top teams in the world, you also have Italy and Argentina but with these two, I think we stand a better chance. We could also try our luck with Sweden because when we lost against them it was not by big margins, so the only things that will help us is to have self-belief because we have very good players in this country and a very good technical team in Desiree and Thinasonke – if we can just give that self-belief to the players I think we stand a good chance of getting out of the group stages. In terms of preparations, we have been doing quite well. For them to play against top sides is a good thing and there’s not much to do except instill that self-belief like I said so it can rub it off on the players. The more we play against top opposition the better for us in terms of knowing what to expect. If we could get another European country – we were fortunate enough to play against Brazil, here we are now going to face Argentina, also from South America, we know what to expect. So if we could get another European side it would help us overcome Italy and Sweden.”
By Matlhomola Morake
