Future looks bright for beaten Banyana
BANYANA: DESIREE ELLIS’ GIRLS REALLY HELD THEIR OWN
Thembi Kgatlana named Player of the Tournament.
Banyana Banyana returned yesterday to South Africa, with the agony of a penalty shoot-out defeat to Nigeria on Saturday more than offset by a future full of hope.
Desiree Ellis’ charges may have finished as runners-up in a tense 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final on Saturday evening, but the job, in some sense, had already been done, with qualification for a first World Cup finals secured with the midweek semifinal win over Mali.
Banyana will jet off to France for next year’s tournament, which runs from June 7 to July 7, with all eyes first on the draw for the finals, which takes place at La Seine Musicale on Saturday.
For striker Thembi Kgatlana, the possibilities seem limitless, her five goals at the 2018 Women’s Afcon revealing her as a star of the continental game, and she picked up the consolation of the Player-of-the-Tournament Award after Saturday’s final.
“I am happy right now,” said Kgatlana.
“People probably think I am crazy, but I am happy with how we played, with the kind of character we showed from the first game of the tournament to now. Penalties can go either way, someone has to win, and Nigeria won.
“We are disappointed but we have come so far, and our first mandate when we left the country was to get a ticket to the World Cup. We have achieved that and it was a blessing to be in the final against Nigeria again. People were saying it was luck in the first game.
Kgatlana was referring to the opening game of the Women’s Afcon, where the striker’s wonder goal had given Banyana a 1-0 win over Nigeria, to set them on their way to the World Cup.
Kgatlana was unable to repeat the trick on Saturday, with one mesmerising run not quite followed up by a finish to match, but once more Banyana held their own against the superpower of the women’s game in Africa.
Now Banyana must steel themselves for a global challenge, and Kgatlana hopes they can play as many top teams as possible ahead of the World Cup. There is already a friendly set for Cape Town Stadium on Jannuary 22 against Sweden.
“Because it is our first time going to the World Cup, we need to make sure that we use the Fifa dates to play against the best countries in the world, to see how far we need to go,” said Kgatlana.