Zambia to fine-tune SA for final Awcon qualifiers

THE South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan urged Banyana Banyana to “hit them (Algeria) very hard” in a pep talk ahead of today’s international friendly against Zambia’s Copper Queens at the Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.

The Zambia clash will prepare the South Africans for the final round of qualifying for the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (Awcon) that is scheduled to take place in Morocco in July. South Africa will play Algeria in one of 10 qualifying matches next weekend.

The 10 winners will join hosts Morocco and Uganda who have qualified on a walkover after their opponents Kenya withdrew.

Yesterday, SA coach Desiree Ellis told the Zambian media that she would have preferred North African opposition which would be like Algeria. However, because of the pandemic and restrictions from various countries, it was difficult to arrange a friendly against North African opposition.

“For obvious reasons, we tried North Africa opponents, but it was not possible,” said Ellis. “We’re pleased that Zambia agreed to play, and they were at the Tokyo Olympics, so we’ll be in for a tough match.

“Zambia are preparing for their qualifier against Namibia so both teams will try to make the most of the match. It will be a friendly match, but we can expect that in the light of the upcoming qualifiers, it will be highly competitive.”

On their return to Johannesburg, Banyana will play Algeria in the first leg at the Orlando Stadium next Friday. Jordaan said Banyana, ranked No 3 in Africa, should aim for an emphatic result against Algeria (9).

“When Algeria come to South Africa for the first leg we must make sure that we hit them very hard to put ourselves in a good place so that we are not under pressure when we play them away,” said Jordaan.

“The world of football has proved to us that there is no small team anymore in the world. When I look at this team, I see the talent and a team that can conquer not only Africa but the world at large.

“Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies displayed what South Africa is capable of when they won the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League.”

After next Friday’s match, both teams will fly out to Algeria for the second leg on February 23 at the Stade Omar Hamadi, Algiers.

Banyana goalkeeper Andile Dlamini, one of the three captains in the squad, said today's clash against Zambia was the start of a great journey ahead for the team.

“Starting on Saturday when we play Zambia, it marks the start of a busy programme ahead,” said Dlamini.

“AWCON is one milestone, but this group's focus is to ultimately qualify for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.”