The coach of the women’s national football team, Desiree Ellis, believes that they have put together a squad that is ready to win back the title of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Banyana Banyana won Wafcon for the first time in 2022, finishing in fourth place last year.
The tournament will start on Sunday night but Banyana will open Group B on Monday.
In this group it was drawn with Tanzania, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. The top two teams will advance to the quarterfinals. The four who will enter the semi-finals will book their place in the World Cup to be played in Brazil next year.
In the 26-man squad, Ellis brought back 18 who were there when they won the 2022 Wafcon.
These players include Andile Dlamini, Refiloe Jane, Linda Motlhalo, Thembi Kgatlana, Hilda Magaia who scored two goals to defeat Morocco 2-1 in the final and others. Among the new players are 18-year-old attacking player, Zoe October, and defender Asanda Hadebe (22).
“We believe that we have a strong enough team, full of experienced players but there are also many young players who will be playing for the first time in this tournament. The good thing is that they got the chance to play in Cosafa this year,” said Ellis.
This year, the local team played two friendlies against Algeria in April, and two more friendlies against Japan last month. Ellis believes that it helped them even though they will face teams that play in completely different ways in this competition.
“We know that other teams choose to sit back, so we need different tactics. We may not be facing a team that plays like Japan, but we can find something similar,” he continued.
“African football is different but many countries have players who play in different countries abroad, who will come with other styles of play. We must be ready for everything we may face.”
Wafcon will start on Sunday with the games of Group A. Banyana will play the first of the groups against Tanzania at Moulay Rachid Stadium, Casablanca, on Monday at 7 pm.
The first round of collections at Wafcon
Sunday: Algeria v Senegal (7pm), Morocco v Kenya (10pm)
NgoMsombuluko: South Africa v Tanzania (7pm), Ivory Coast v Burkina Faso (10pm)
Tuesday: Zambia v Egypt (7pm), Nigeria v Malawi (10pm)
NgoLabudení: Ghana v Cape Verde (7pm), Cameroon v Mali (10pm)