The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana has the full complement of players in camp after the arrival of USA-based forward, Thembi Kgatlana.
She was the last player to join the squad as she was still running out for her club, Racing Louisville in the NSWL.
Kgatlana started in her last match against North Carolina on Saturday, 24 June as they lost 1-0.
The 2019 CAF Woman Player of the Year has not seen national team action since she limped off against Botswana at the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in July last year in Morocco – also the last time South Africa faced their neighbours.
She arrives in time as Banyana Banyana go into their World Cup send-off match against the same country in an international friendly match scheduled for Sunday, 2 July 2023 at the Tsakane Stadium in the East Rand.
Kickoff is at 15h00.
The last time the South African Senior Women’s National Team played at the venue was in March 2020 when they defeated Lesotho 3-0 in a friendly match, with a brace from Rhoda Mulaudzi and a goal from Sibulele Holweni.
Against Botswana, Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis aims to further fine-tune her team, after announcing her final squad of 23 players that will represent South Africa in Australia and New Zealand.
While many may see this as not an ideal preparation match for a tournament of the magnitude of the World Cup, the South African technical team see it differently.
Botswana has often times been stiff opposition to to Banyana Banyana, and even bundled them out of the 2020 Olympic qualifiers.
In their most recent meeting, it was Nthabiseng Majiya’s strike late in the second half that gave them a 1-0 victory at the 2022 CAF Women’s African Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The match will help South Africa in certain areas.
“Botswana play different to what our oppositions are going to play, but for us, we’re looking further than this game. We’re looking further than the Costa Rica game. It’s all part of our preparation. There are certain things that I would obviously like to see against Botswana. I want us not to concede early goals in the two matches and not concede goals from set pieces. Those are some of the things that we’ve been working on to make sure that we get our formula right,” said Ellis earlier this week.
The clash against The Mares of Botswana will be South Africa’s seventh since winning the WAFCON about a year ago.
Banyana Banyana have twice played against South Americans, Brazil; took on World Cup co-hosts Australia, then faced off with Uzbekistan and Slovenia at the Turkish Women’s Cup. Their last outing was against Serbia in April, and the Botswana clash assist in dusting off the cobwebs, and also help them celebrate with their fans before jetting off to the tournament.
“We just want to thank the Football Association getting us a send-off match. We know it has been a difficult task, we are really grateful and we ask the fans to come out in their numbers to support this team and to give us a fantastic send-off. We look forward to playing the match and we thank Botswana as well for coming forward to play this send-off match. It’s a huge match for us, the last match before we leave the shores of South Africa. We really want to put up a good performance and again we urge the fans to come out and really give us a fantastic send-off,” Ellis told www.safa.net
Entry at the Tsakane Stadium is free but fans will get complementary tickets to gain access.
Nozipho Mbatha, Senior Manager: Group Brand & Sponsorships at Sasol, shared her excitement about Banyana Banyana playing their final friendly game on home soil as part of the preparations for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“As the leading enabler of women’s football in South Africa, Sasol wants to ensure that the players have opportunities to prepare adequately for the various tournaments, including the upcoming Women’s World Cup. We believe that the encounter against Botswana will help the players gauge their readiness and know what to still work on before they depart for Australia and New Zealand. We know that Sasol is not alone in our support for Banyana Banyana, as this team carries the hopes and dreams of 60 million South Africans. We invite all South Africans to come out and support Banyana Banyana at the stadium and remember, your support gives them the energy to perform,” said Mbatha.
By Matlhomola Morake
