Banyana Banyana mentor Desiree Ellis is convinced her team isn’t appreciated enough for “always rising to the occasion” amid adversities, and is aiming to prove once again that they aren’t a one-player team by retaining their Wafcon title without talismanic striker Thembi Kgatlana.
Banyana begin their Wafcon title defence on Monday night when they face Ghana at Honneur Stadium in Oudja, Morocco. (6pm SA time).
Kgatlana asked to be excluded from the Wafcon squad, citing “personal reasons”. Banyana won the last edition of Wafcon in Morocco in 2022 without much of Kgatlana’s involvement after she ruptured her achilles tendon in the team’s last group stages game against Botswana, forcing her to return to SA prematurely.
“Banyana don’t get the credit they deserve,” Ellis told the media in Oudja on Sunday. “I think through all the challenges and through all the issues, they consistently rise to the occasion ... they show resilience and courage.
“You look at 2022 when we lost Thembi [Kgatlana]. I think you [a South African journalist] can attest to that, the whole country went into mourning, and they thought, ‘That was it’. We have a group of players that can rise to the occasion; we have a group of players who never know when to quit.
I think through all the challenges and through all the issues, they consistently rise to the occasion ... they show resilience and courage.
— Banyana mentor Desiree Ellis
“It’s a group you can rely on. It doesn’t matter who comes in, and I think a little bit more credit needs to come from everybody else because they [the players] deserve that.”
On facing Ghana, Ellis insisted that the Black Queens were still giants who can’t be underestimated, just because they missed the last Wafcon. “We know Ghana didn’t qualify for the previous Wafcon, but without a doubt, they are still a powerhouse of women’s football,” Ellis said.
“You look at their players, playing for good clubs around the world and that speaks volumes about their quality. We can’t underestimate them ... if you look at the last six months, they’ve changed coaches, but the quality has always been there.”
Ghana coach Kim Björkegren said: “As a team we know that we’re a little bit of underdogs or we’re dark horses ... we’re not one of the biggest favourites of people. [But] I know that we have the quality to beat all of the teams in this tournament.”
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