Zambia awaits for Bantwana

Bantwana coach Simphiwe Dludlu (right) has described the team’s clash with Zambia in the first leg of their Fifa Under-17 World Cup qualifier as a vital encounter for her charges at the Nkoloma Stadium this afternoon.

The South Africans left the country for Lusaka on Wednesday with a squad of 20 players, after initially inviting 30 players to their camp. Dludlu says it will be a challenge for some of the players who will be playing in the national team for the first time, but the technical team had made sure that they prepare the squad thoroughly.

“The game against Zambia is crucial because they are not an easy team to play against and this is a World Cup qualifiying match. I’m sure they also want to go through. It will be very critical for us to come out with a positive result out of Lusaka because we are playing away and the opponents are not going to make it easy for us,” Dludlu told Phakaaathi Plus.

“They will have the whole crowd behind them and some of our players have never travelled out of the country, some of them have never played for the national team either, so there is a lot of pressure within the team, but we are trying to prepare them psychologically, so that they understand this is the national team and they will need to prepare better mentally.

“They need to understand that we are going out there to fight for three points so that when we come back for the second leg things will be better.”

The Bantwana coach has done her homework. “Zambia are aggressive, they have height and players with a big heart as well. They are your typical African team, aggressive and physical.”