Banyana Banyana star Thembi Kgatlana has insisted that losing their Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (Wafcon) to Tanzania four days ago doesn’t mean they are now out of the competition.
Tanzania stunned Banyana, the 2022 Wafcon champions, 2-1 to register their first ever win in this tournament at Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca on Monday.
Banyana aim to bounce back when they face Group B leaders Ivory Coast, who thumped Burkina Faso 4-1 in their own opener late on Monday, at the same venue tonight (7pm SA time).
“We are still in the tournament. The first game doesn’t determine where you are going to finish,” said Kgatlana.
Kgatlana feels the team need to up their intensity against Ivory Coast, bemoaning that they lacked that against Tanzania, who are the lowest-ranked side in Group B, occupying the 122nd slot in the world and 18th on the continent.
“We need to increase our tempo ... Against Tanzania we kept the ball well, but our intensity wasn’t high and we hardly put them under pressure. Against Ivory Coast, the aim is to play with high intensity from the word go and threaten the goal as quickly as possible.”
The Banyana star agreed that the game against Ivory Coast was huge for them, highlighting that they had put the Tanzania game behind them.
“It’s a big game for us, the second one in the group. The first game didn’t go in our way, but I think we’ve had days and time to reflect.”
The four semifinalists at this Wafcon, hosted by Morocco, will qualify for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Sowetan
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