[WATCH] Ellis: Banyana ready for Cup kickoff
|Published
GOAL HERO: Thembi Kgatlana, right
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis reckons her African queens are ready to tackle Sweden in Sunday’s Women’s World Cup opener after winning their final warm-up game this weekend.
South Africa beat Costa Rica 2-0 in Wellington, New Zealand, thanks to Thembi Kgatlana’s 33rd-minute opener, before a brilliant Hildah Magaia free-kick 10 minutes into the second half.
📹Word from Head Coach Desiree Ellis after the team’s 2-0 victory against Costa Rica 🇨🇷 in our final international friendly on Saturday afternoon. 🎤#LiveTheImpossible pic.twitter.com/vle2XHQHur
— Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) July 16, 2023
Ellis believes the Women’s Afcon holders will be ready to make their stemme dik against the No.3-ranked team in the world and Group G favourites.
Die Kaap se eie Ellis tells Safa’s website: “A win gives you confidence. And I think the way we played will also give us a lot of confidence.
“There are lots of similarities between Costa Rica and Sweden.
4️⃣Days to go to the #FIFAWWC
— Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) July 16, 2023
7️⃣Days to go to our opening encounter against Sweden 🇸🇪
It’s Our Time Now 💚💛🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/6og1eeKIjY
“We coped really well when they tried to overload areas against us – something we expect Sweden to do – and it’s good to see us handle that.
“But when we received the ball, our decision-making was not great.”