Banyana brace themselves for England test

African champions Banyana Banyana will hope to regroup after their defeat to Denmark a few days ago and turn their attention fully on the Lionesses of England when the two sides meet in an international friendly match on Tuesday. Catch the action live on SuperSport Variety 4 at 9:45pm CAT.

The Sasol-sponsored South Africa senior women’s national team suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat to Denmark on Friday, 25 October 2024, in a match coach Dr Desiree Ellis will hope they put behind them and concentrate on the task at hand.

The South Africans were boosted by the arrival of Thembi Kgatlana, Linda Motlhalo, Hilda Magaia and Sinoxolo Cesane this week as they will bring the much-needed experience and attacking play that the team missed in the clash against Denmark. The friendly matches against Denmark and England are part of the preparations for the WAFCON 2025 qualifiers.

Dr Ellis told www.safa.net that playing against highly ranked teams is exactly what they need as they will be looking to rebuild the squad and try to defend their title as African Champions in the 2025 edition of WAFCON.

“What better opponent could we ask for than to play the second-ranked team in the world. The match itself is motivation to the players, to see that this is the level of quality we as South Africa should be competing against. We will be playing a wounded England who also lost their match on Friday against Germany. Both of us are in a build phase for 2025, so we are looking forward to a good match,” said Dr Ellis.

“We are very happy to have our international players in camp as they bring a lot to the squad on and off the field, and their experience will be paramount to how we play.

“We will be looking to solidify our defence, it is the first form of attack, and we will also be looking to go forward more, create more chances, and convert a few where possible against England. Our main challenge against big opposition is staying tactically disciplined for the entire match, and this was evident against Denmark where we had a good first half but fell apart in the second. So we will be looking to correct this aspect.

“Our players are ready for this challenge, and we are working hard behind the scenes to make sure that we meet our internal objectives.”

England will host South Africa at the Coventry Building Arena at 7:45pm local time (SA time 9:45pm) on Tuesday, 29 October 2024. This match will be broadcast live on SuperSport Variety 4.

Sasol Senior Manager: Group Brand and Sponsorship Nozipho Mbatha said it is important for the team to compete against some of the top teams on the Fifa world ranking, and that these matches offer Banyana Banyana the opportunity to push their limits and rise to the occasion.

“As part of our journey towards WAFCON 2025, playing the European champions is valuable to prepare ourselves tactically at the highest level. While the last match against Denmark did not go our way, we are incredibly proud of Banyana Banyana’s efforts.

“We stand firmly behind them, knowing that their resilience and perseverance are key to their path to success as the face the Lionesses of England.”