99% of our players have not played an international match
Bantwana travel for their first outing
Heading into the first round of their Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup first-leg qualifier against Botswana away tomorrow, coach Simphiwe Dludlu is undeterred despite the core of her Bantwana squad having not played at international level before.
“Ninenty nine percent of our players have not played an international match but the girls are grasping quicker,’’ said Dludlu at the team’s media open day in Soweto yesterday.
“They are being innovative and creative in their own different positions.
“The nice thing about coaching a young group is that when you give them the ball on their feet that is how they speak. We want them to enjoy what they are doing. They are a team that is learning quickly.’’
The SA Football Association’s attempts to organise Bantwana an international friendly yielded no result and Dludlu admits it could prove detrimental in the long run.
“We did not get to play a friendly to prepare for this game and that puts us on the back foot a bit. That experience and confidence in front of a crowd, when you get a spytwo for example, they [SA players] are 14-15 [years old] and they focus on that more,’’ stated the former Banyana Banyana defender.
The return leg will be played at Dobsonville Stadium on December 16. The winner, on aggregate, will take on either Morocco or Equatorial Guinea in the second round in February next year.