Banyana Banyana play against SC FA of Serbia in a friendly this afternoon, Monday 10 April 2023), at the SC FA Stara Pazov.
The SASOL-sponsored South African senior women’s national team arrived in Serbia on Friday morning.
The South Africans immediately got down to business in preparation for their highly anticipated international friendly against the hosts.
Despite Serbias failure to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup, the sides form in the last four games and their standing on the FIFA rankings does favour the European team.
Coach Dragia Ze?evi?s charges are unbeaten in the last three games (WDW) and are currently ranked at 35 in the latest FIFA rankings.
The African champions, on the other hand, suffered one defeat in the last three games (LWD) and are ranked number 54 in the world.
But Banyana co-captain Refiloe Jane insists that the FIFA ranking will not matter when the two sides meet for the first time on Monday.
They are a very physical team, they are very tactical and technical, and it will not be easy,” Jane told http://www.safa.net.
“They are ranked above us but that says nothing at the end of the day if we put in a good performance, prepare very well, and implement what we learned at training into the game, then it will make it easier for the girls.
The skipper praised the new additions to the team for putting in the hard work and adjusting to the high intensity at national team level.
It is important for the new players to gel in quickly and as senior players, we try to teach them as much as we can because we dont have much time before the World Cup,” Jane said.
“The sooner they adjust to the culture and the work that we put in, then the door is open for everyone.
“They have gelled very well so far and the work that they are putting in is showing.
Coach Desiree Ellis has 21 players in camp instead of the originally selected 23 after Noko Matlou and Nthabiseng Majiya withdrew due to injuries.
The kick-off is at 13:30.
Banyana are preparing for their second World Cup appearance.
The 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup in Australia and New Zealand begins on 20 July.
The South Africans are in Group G alongside Sweden, Italy, and Argentina.
*Original article Banyana Banyana match Preview vs Serbia | SAFA.net
