After the drama where Banyana Banyana players and SAFA officials were at each other's throats due to bonus-related problems, the reigning African champions are now playing in the FIFA Women's World Cup. It's a platform that any player in football, male or female, dreams of being given in order to showcase their talent in front of a massive audience. A life-changing experience for many. And for the coach, it is often to guide the players in the right direction, ensure they are not overawed by the occasion and to remember that the focus is on the team goal. Can Banyana reach the knockout stage after being knocked out of the group stages last time out in France? Soccer Laduma's Zola Doda spoke to coach Desiree Ellis about the team's preparations and what she expects to achieve at the tournament.
Zola Doda: Coach, thanks a lot for your time. The time difference between New Zealand and South Africa is quite crazy, we're speaking to you on Tuesday (18 July) 04h00 SA time! So, what does the win over Costa Rica in the last warm-up game mean to your team?
Desiree Ellis: Look, I think if you look at how close it is to the tournament, this win will give us a lot of confidence and momentum because all the things we did at training came together. We were very happy with the result, first of all, and obviously as a coach you are always looking for room for improvement because no game is a perfect game. In terms of tactics, Costa Rica plays different to Sweden and we analysed them and you must remember that they are also preparing for their games. At times, they were playing with a low block defence and we needed to break the block down and that's how we scored our goal – by breaking down that block. That really, really helped us.
ZD: So, are you happy with the overall preparations?
DE: You know, I would actually think from the tournament that we played in Turkey at the beginning of the year, we have already been doing a lot of preparations in terms of how we want to play against Sweden. In the match we played against Slovenia, we had to change our system a bit. Against Serbia, obviously we played against a much stronger opponent. But when we saw that we could push higher up the field, we did that. But that was good preparation as well. Playing on the transition, against Slovenia, we created a lot of opportunities. And the same now, in the last warm-up (game) against Costa Rica, when we created lots of opportunities. I mean, the first goal that we scored, we won the ball in midfield and played a forward pass to Thembi Kgatlana. The second goal was also on the transition – it ended up being a free kick and we scored our goal from a free kick. So, these are things that we've been working on. And obviously the game dictates how you set up your team, we needed to set up a little bit differently to how we will set up against Sweden. But it gives us an opportunity, again.
ZD: When you look at Group G, a lot of people believe that Sweden are the strongest opponent and Argentina and Italy will not pose the bigger threats. Do you agree with those sentiments?
DE: I think this is Argentina's fourth FIFA Women's World Cup – I speak under correction. I think Italy made the quarterfinals of the last World Cup in France, if I'm not mistaken. We have learned a lot from the 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar – Morocco was in the same group as Belgium and Croatia, I don't think anyone gave them a chance of getting out of the group. From our side, we believe that we can do well in this tournament and if you're really thinking in terms of what people are saying, then you are defeated. We are here to make our mark at this tournament. We are here to put up a good fight so that people can remember us. We are also coming to this tournament as African champions and I think that gives us a lot more confidence. That gives us a lot more belief and a lot more momentum. And I think the team is… If you look at the last World Cup, I think the team is matured, the team has grown, the team has developed. Our domestic league has gotten better as well. It's not where we want it to be, but it's gotten better. I'm not saying that other countries have not moved forward – they have gotten better as well. We know a lot about Sweden and they also know a lot about us. They are a top side, there's no two ways about it, but we have to execute our plans and make sure that we stick to our game plan. If they have a Plan B, we must also have our own Plan B to counter that. So, we're working on all those things at training and if people are writing us off in the first game, I mean, then why are we here?
ZD: At the last World Cup in France, Banyana Banyana scored first against Spain before conceding three goals in the last 20 minutes, which included two penalties. What lessons are you taking from France to this tournament?
DE: Number one, we've got to take our chances. If you remember against Spain, I think it was not immediately after halftime, but around the 50-something minute, we had a second chance to score the second goal. The ball was played to Thembi Kgatlana and their goalkeeper made a save on the goal line. If we had scored that goal, we would have been 2-0 up, then we would have done things a little bit differently. So, it's about taking those chances when it comes and then try to stay concentrated for the full 90 minutes. I think that is some of the things that we learned… and consistency and everything. We have to stay concentrated and stick to the game plan for the duration of 90 minutes as well as added minutes because as we saw at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, those added minutes are important. We need to stick to our game plan, stick to our principles in terms of what we decided to do for the duration of the entire game. What we're going to do for the duration of the of the entire game. (Against Spain), we were sitting and looking at the time. We were still leading 1-0 and saying, "We don't want to change our system too early." Then the moment they scored, we were going to change our system. To stay in the game for the full 90 minutes has taught us a lesson. At the previous World Cup in France, we did not stay in the game for the full 90 minutes.
ZD: Coming in as African champions is pressure on its own.
DE: Look, when you come to the Banyana Banyana team, the pressure and the expectations are already there. When you go to a match, expectations are already there, it doesn't matter who you play against on the day. Coming to the World Cup as Africans champions, expectations will always be there, but this team has shown, through adversity, that we can succeed. If you look at what happened in Morocco during the Wafcon with COVID-19 and injuries, the players showed resilience and courage and they were brave. When Thembi Kgatlana got injured, a lot of people went into shock. I've known Jermaine Seoposenwe for a very long time and even though she hadn't played for two years due to complications with visas and all of that and having to leave the country and all of that, we knew what Jermaine was capable of, you know. We've played Hildah Magaia at the COSAFA Cup as a striker, that is when she got a contract to go abroad. So, we had options. When I selected the squad, I looked back at 2018 when Refiloe Jane had to leave early. When Leandra Smeda got injured, I asked myself who were we going to play in her position? Yes, there were other players who could play in that position, but against Nigeria, we needed someone physical. We then shifted Bambanani Mbane. Noko Matlou came in as a centre- back and when it was time to take the penalties, Leandra, our kicker, was not available; Refiloe was not available; and Bambanani was cramping. But we made sure we chose players who could play in different positions in case anything happened. We then ended up playing Jermaine up front because we knew the capabilities that she had and that really helped. I won't say we were prepared for that, but we already had Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. At the last World Cup, we knew what to expect, but also we didn't know what to expect because you can experience all of those things when you are here at the tournament. We are now a little bit wiser, a little bit matured, we sort of know what to expect and we are planning and preparing for all of that. This team has a never-say-die attitude and we will still be creating chances after 90 minutes and that is what it will take to get results in all our games.
ZD: Last but not least, how far do you think your team is capable of going in this World Cup?
DE: Look, it's all about the first game against Sweden. But you know we are capable of getting out of the group because any team that comes to this tournament has the same ambition, to get out of the group stages, to get into the knockout stages. You can speak to any coach out there, that is the ambition. We are not naïve into thinking that it's going to be easy or it's not going to be difficult. But we have ambition too, you know, and having been to our first World Cup doesn't mean that we cannot dream and believe that we can. This team has shown that they can be history makers and this is another opportunity to make history once again. So, we are really working towards, you know, getting positive results in our group and to get out of the group.
