Banyana aim to finish top and stay at Oujda

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has explained the importance of beating Mali in their last Wafcon Group C fixture at Honneur Stadium in Oujda, Morocco, tonight (9pm SA time), even though they’ve already qualified for the quarterfinals.

As the two best third-placed teams, across the three groups, alongside the group winners and runners-up, qualify for the quarterfinals, Banyana’s four points guarantee them a spot in the last eight, as Group A has already been decided. Third-placed Senegal finished with three points.

Banyana top Group C with a superior goal difference to Mali, who have the same number of points as SA ahead of tonight’s fixture.

“Obviously, we want to end top [of Group C]. We also want to give ourselves that momentum after that [1-1] draw against Tanzania [at the same venue on Friday], we want to go and get a win like any other team,” Ellis said yesterday.

“Topping the group also allows us to stay where we are and not move too much ... I think that helps a lot, being familiar with your surroundings, being familiar with the stadium and everything.”

Winning their group would see Banyana remain in Oujda, while finishing as runners-up would force them to relocate to Berkane. 

“It’s disruptive to move somewhere else, but we know there’s no easy game ... we’ve seen that already in this competition. We have to be on top of our game,” Ellis noted.

“We are aware that not getting the result we want would push us further down, but we still have it in our own hands [to top the group] and that’s the good thing for us. We know what we have to do.”

Banyana are out to make sure they don’t become the first nation to fail to defend their Wafcon title after winning the last edition on Moroccan soil in 2022.

Ellis emphasised that they weren’t thinking about retaining the title yet.

“It is too early to talk about titles or defending this trophy because there is still a long way to go in the tournament, with more games to be played. For us, it is about taking one game at a time,” she said.

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