Banyana Banyana's squad selection may need a shake-up following lessons from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Banyana made history by winning a World Cup game and reached the last 16 of the tournament for the first time after edging Italy 3-2 in their last group game.
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However, Desiree Ellis' charges came up short in the round of 16 after a 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands.
Ellis' selection in the tournament drew criticism, particularly not playing Noko Matlou (one of the taller players in the squad) in the first two games against Sweden and Argentina, as Banyana struggled with height against these nations. There was also goalkeeper Andile Dlamini, who many felt, her slightly taller stature over Kaylin Swart, could help Banyana deal with height during their struggle to defends set-pieces at the tournament.
Ellis had insisted that Banyana's struggles to defend set-pieces was not because of the height but was an organisation issue.
However, Matlou, who was eventually included in the line-up in the 3-2 win over Italy and 2-0 loss to Netherlands, has admitted that countries such as Sweden had a significant advantage over them because of their height and they were worried every time they had to defend set-pieces.
"We saw on social media what people were saying but it's true, if you look at Sweden, I think their (average) height is 1.75 - 1.8 (meters) while we have 1.5 - 1.65 (metres), so it shows that their height was an advantage for them," Matlou said on Metro FM Sports.
"That's why whenever we conceded set-pieces we were a little bit worried because they were taller than us. Remember we conceded all (most of) our goals from set-pieces.
"After the first game we also trained set-pieces and see if we were gonna manage but it wasn't easy, it was tough because all the teams we played (against) had the height," she said.
To compete against bigger nations, mostly from Europe, Banyana need to address the height challenge by starting to prioritise scouting and selecting taller players and also establish a selection policy that would ensure that experienced players like Dlamini are given a chance to prove their worth at major tournaments like the World Cup.
Banyana are scheduled to play against number one ranked nation United States of America in two friendly matches, on 21 September in Cincinnati and in Chicago three days later.
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