Netherlands trip not just about WAFCON preparations for Banyana

Desiree Ellis says Banyana Banyana’s international friendly against Netherlands is not only about preparing for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), but to test her charges against top opponents.

Banyana have to gear up for the continental tournament, which is coming up in July to be hosted in Morocco.

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Playing the Dutch will certainly shed some light on the fitness levels and the growth of the South African senior national women’s team, who were the runners-up of the WAFCON in 2018 in Nigeria.

“It won’t only be part of the preparations for AFCON but it is also an opportunity to be tested against high level opponents, to assess if the players have the necessary mental strength to stay focused despite not playing any league matches,” said Ellis.

Banyana have been in camps since this week and the friendly encounter between the South Africans and the Dutch is set to be played on 12 April in the City of Den Haag in the European country and the team is expected to depart for the Netherlands on Friday.

Having last played last month when they took on Algeria in a two-legged tie in the final round of the WAFCON qualifiers, Ellis believes the team looks much better than they looked when they took on the Algerian and the last time they played a continental tournament when they won the inaugural Aisha Buhari Cup last year.

“We are a little bit ahead than what we were when we played Algeria. Six weeks has been added to the pre-season and clubs have played matches and tournaments,” added Ellis.

“Over the last year and a half, we played many of our matches with local players due to the quarantine protocols in different countries and now it is an opportunity for the players to test themselves further post the Aisha Buhari Cup,” concluded Ellis.

In the previous meeting between Banyana and Netherlands, the Europeans won 2-1 back in 2019.