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Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis has explained the surprise omission of veteran defender Noko Matlou and cited a few rising stars for the future.
With Ellis and her troops set for a mammoth test of facing Brazil on Friday, their first match since being crowned Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions in Morocco she admitted it’s a challenge that will measure who is ready to be part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup plans and which areas will need to be addressed.
Speaking at Orlando Stadium on Thursday, iDiski Times probed the question of whether she is looking to freshen up the squad or will be tempted to try and keep the group together a bit longer for the 2023 global showpiece set to take place in Australia and New Zealand.
“We’ve already brought three players in because Noko is not available, she’s got resident permit and visa issues, she would be allowed to leave Spain but then would not be allowed to go back in the country,” Ellis confirmed.
“We have to look out for her career and hope that it’s sorted by the next FIFA window, Thembi has a long-term injury so we brought in Thubelihle [Shamase], who was on standby for WAFCON.
“We brought in Lonathemba [Mhlongo] who was part of our selection camp and got injured before WAFCON, in place of Noko and then Sibulele [Holweni] is not recovered from her injury yet – so we brought in Asanda [Hadebe] who was not available in June because she’s in Matric and the June schedule is hectic, so we didn’t bring her in.
“We brought her in for this match just to have a look obviously then later on in the year when she’s writing matric then you allow her to study further. We’ve also had conversations with Karabo Dlamini’s coach because she’s at university so, we’re putting a plan in place where we also let her settle when it’s school work so we make sure we get the best out of her.”
While Ellis has her core group of players who she relies on, she’s opened the door for those who show the grit and potential to don the national team shirt acknowledging the tests that lay ahead over the next 12 months are beyond what they experienced by being crowned the Queens of the continent in North Africa.
“But the door is never closed to anyone. And the reason why we selected almost the same squad is that we wanted to test them. I thought they did well at WAFCON and now it’s an opportunity to test them to see who you take with you going forward,” Ellis added.
“We challenged the group, we’ve challenged them to say you need to work, there are certain things you need to work on because going to the World Cup is a completely different level compared to WAFCON.
“That’s why so soon after WAFCON, sort of selected the same squad, but we also look outside, as you saw the players coming in. Thubelihle has done well at UJ, you know, Asanda plays for Sunflower but has always been part of the system – Lonathemba has also done well at UWC as a central defender.
“We’re always looking at refreshing the squad. So it was important just looking ta continuity for this match and we’ll see what happens going forward.”
South Africa face up to the eight-time Copa América Femenina champions Brazil on Friday afternoon at Orlando Stadium (18h00).
𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗗𝗔𝗬 ‼️
🇿🇦 South Africa (𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗖𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀)
🆚
🇧🇷 Brazil (𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗮 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀)
⏱️ 18:00
🏟️ Orlando Stadium pic.twitter.com/v7vnavBP2H— iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) September 2, 2022