BANYANA FOCUS ON BIGGER PICTURE
World Cup qualification confirmed, so focal point must change
ALTHOUGH the country may still be celebrating Banyana Banyana’s qualification for the Fifa World Cup, striker Refiloe Jane believes the team need to refocus if they are “not just to go there and add numbers”.
Banyana qualified for the football jamboree in France later this year when they reached the Awcon final in Ghana – a match Jane was unfortunately forced to miss due to her club commitments in Australia.
The 26-year-old is, though, back in the squad for the two friendlies against the Netherlands and Sweden set to be played at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday and Tuesday respectively.
“It is not an easy task to forget the qualification for the World Cup but we have to remind ourselves that is done and that we need to focus on the bigger picture,” Jane told Independent Media.
“We have worked so hard on qualifying, but now we need to move towards the actual tournament.
“We can’t forget that there is a bigger goal, which is of course the World Cup, where want to make a name for ourselves and not just to go there and add numbers.”
It will certainly be no easy task for Banyana to progress from Pool B, where they are grouped with former champions Germany, China and Spain.
But Jane believes that with the national team’s overseas contingent growing steadily, there is a great degree of optimism in the camp that they can surprise some of the bigger nations at the World Cup.
Besides Jane and Rhoda Mulaudzi, who have both moved to Australia, Banyana also have captain Janine van Wyk, Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo based in the US at the Houston Dash, while goalkeeper Roxanne Barker is in the Netherlands and striker Andisiwe Mgcoyi in Germany.
This regular exposure to top-level football, in addition to the friendlies they will also play against defending World Cup champions the USA and hosts France, can only be beneficial to Banyana’s cause at the World Cup.
“It is really important to get players overseas and just as important for them to come back and share their knowledge,” Jane said. “It is a different ball game. Coming back with the experience gives young players the idea of what it takes to play overseas and in the big leagues and what needs to be done to survive.
“The experience is very nice. We are learning so much. When we left, we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t have any experience playing professionally. We can only grow from that and come back and share our experiences.”