Following their 2-1 loss to Sweden in their opening FIFA Women's World Cup clash on Sunday, Banyana Banyana have been encouraged not to lose hope as the tournament continues.
In their next match, Desiree Ellis' side will face Argentina on Friday, with their last Group G fixture scheduled against Italy next Wednesday.
Women's football administrator Siyabulela Loyilane has encouraged Banyana to remain focused on the task at hand as she believes that the team can still make it past the group stages.
The Good
"Obviously, it was a disappointing result, however, Banyana were playing against Sweden and they are in the top three in the world in the rankings. Banyana played all the way to finish the game 2-1 and for me that was commendable. I just feel that they need to build from what they learned from that game and push in their remaining games to make it past the group stages. We still believe in them in what they can give us as a South African nation. We are hopeful that they can still come back proceed to a better position," said Loyilane.
The Bad
"Banyana are in a tough group which you can refer to as the group of death. Against Argentina we can do well and obviously the tactics will have to be different and that's why we rely so much on the technical team that is there to help guide the ladies. We are hoping that the right tactics will be applied for the game because how they approach the game will have to be different to how they approached the Sweden game. It's the second time now that Banyana have been in a World Cup and by now they should be used to be playing at an international stage," she added.
The Ugly
"What happened prior to them leaving for the World Cup was very disappointing, I must say. At the same time, I have so much respect for those girls because they are also showing us as women in football that this is the generation of players that stood the test of time by speaking about their rights. It's always been an issue when it comes to players and payments. They will always be remembered for being the generation that stood and said, "This is what we deserve". They fought for what they believed they deserve. Yes, those distractions were not good but at the same time it is something that needed to happen for women's football in South Africa to be in a better standard," she said.
"Banyana shouldn't be discouraged"
"There is a saying that it's not over until the fat lady sings, and I would like to say that Banyana Banyana shouldn't be discouraged. Their games are not finished. They must approach each game with the seriousness that it deserves. We are already proud of them by just reaching the World Cup. If the results don't go their way, we will still welcome them with open arms because they have done what the male teams have failed to do for us in the last couple of years by taking us to the World Cup. I am with Banyana all the way, our beautiful ladies of South Africa and we are going to rally behind them up until they come back home. To those players that didn't have a not so good game, we know how ruthless social media can be and so on, they must not take everything to heart. They must use whatever criticism as an opportunity to better themselves for the next games," concluded Loyilane.
What will Banyana need to do to win their next game?
