Banyana switch base ahead of WAFCON showdown

Banyana Banyana on Friday switched base ahead of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) semi-final showdown against Zambia set for Monday.

The South African senior women’s national team has been playing its games in Morocco’s capital Rabat after arriving on 22 June, but on Friday moved to Mohammedia [about 60km away], where the potentially explosive semi will be played.

Mohammedia is a port city on the west coast of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat. It will host the all-Southern African tie at the Stade Mohammed V Stadium at 19h00 [South Africa time].

The Desiree Ellis-coached side stormed into the semi-finals after they beat Tunisia 1-0 in the quarter-finals in Rabat on Thursday night to set up a clash with the Copper Queens.

Ellis believes the team could have won the tie by a wider margin had it not been for the many missed chances. However, Jermaine Seoposenwe’s solitary goal was enough to earn South Africa a place at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will take place next year in New Zealand and Australia.

“I thought we started really well, but then we stopped playing, and I don’t know why. But we kept encouraging them to play, and we kept creating chances. As the game went on, I think they felt the pressure, and we tried to calm them down,” Ellis told SAFA media.

“We made elementary mistakes, I don’t know how many chances we could have just rolled [onto the net], and we didn’t take those chances. I want to see the stats of those chances because they were so clear-cut. We didn’t take them. At the end of the day, it was not a good performance, but we showed a lot of grit.

“I thought Refiloe Jane and Lebohang Ramalepe came through really good for us after not being part of training for a while. They gave us a lot.
“But at the end, we are going to the World Cup, hey.”

Ellis’ charges will continue preparations at their new base ahead of the Zambia clash. They will be hoping to secure their sixth WAFCON final appearance.

RELATED STORY: 4 things Desiree Ellis said after Banyana’s triumph

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