Banyana skipper reflects on World Cup

JANINE van Wyk didn’t take much time to recuperate.

Instead, she’s knuckled down and put all her focus on getting ready for the season ahead.

“There is no time to rest.

“My life revolves around the game,” said Van Wyk, 32. If I’m not playing soccer, I’m coaching and guiding young girls to become better players.

“I took a few days off to recover the mind and body, but I’m back at training so I can start playing with my football club JVW in the Sasol League again.”

The Banyana Banyana captain said preparations for the recent Women’s World Cup in France was gruelling.

“It took an extreme amount of hard work to get ready for this kind of tournament, both mentally and physically.

“Since the day we qualified, it became difficult.”

She said leading her country in a World Cup will go down as the best moment in her career so far.

“It was the most memorable experience of my football career. It’s a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life.

“The atmosphere, facilities, the vibe and support around the whole event was phenomenal.”

Van Wyk and her troops finished with no points in Banyana’s debut World Cup, losing all their group stage fixtures against Spain, China and Germany.

She said there was a fair amount of nerves when they played against Spain earlier this month.

“It was the first time I got to represent my country at the highest level and as a leader, people always expect more of you,” Van Wyk added.

“By the second and third games, my nerves had settled a little, and I could enjoy the moment more.

“It was very tough. They are quality teams that make the game look so easy, but it was a great experience for us to learn and grow in the game.”

Van Wyk said the team was unlucky to end their World Cup with no points.

“We could have walked away with three points in our opening match against Spain.

“We scored the first goal of the match as well as our first goal in a World Cup.

“We were hard done by with the two penalty kicks that Spain were awarded as well as the red card which killed the team completely.

“If you play such quality teams with a player down, there is no way that you won’t concede a goal.

“We have honestly given everything that we could have,” she added.

“Every single match was a battle, but we matched all three opponents.

“But we could have made use of the opportunities we created in front of the opposition’s goal a little better.”

Banyana returned home in good spirits, Van Wyk added.

“We would have loved to go through to the next round, but we felt that we gave a good display of football and performance and that was good enough for us considering it was our first ever World Cup.”

JANINE VAN WYK