Banyana need to show something meaningful
In the greater scheme of things, Banyana Banyana’s match against Brazil in Manaus isn’t the end of a journey, says Njabulo Ngidi.
|||Johannesburg - In the greater scheme of things, Banyana Banyana’s match against Brazil in Manaus at 3am on Wednesday isn’t the end of a journey.
It’s the start of a road that should end with the side finally being African champions after four failed attempts.
The Olympics were always going to be a huge step up for a side that went to Brazil ranked 52nd, competing against nations ranked sixth (Sweden), eigth (Brazil) and 12th (China). If it wasn’t for naivety at the back, they could have got something out of their matches with Sweden and China.
Now they face the mighty Brazil, who have wiped the floor with everyone in front of them to top Group E. It will be a bruising encounter for Banyana Banyana, who go into it with nothing to lose, already out of the Olympics.
It’s a perfect match then to help them take their game to the next level so that they can end this year with the African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCN) title.
The continent is a field where the side can be properly judged on because of where their game is at. After the 2012 Games, Banyana Banyana finally beat their arch-nemesis Nigeria and reached the final of the AWCN. They lost to the hosts Equatorial Guinea in the final but there were huge signs that the team was on the rise.
They had to start all over again when Vera Pauw took over from Joseph Mkhonza in 2013. In her first AWCN, in 2014 in Namibia, the nation went backwards by finishing fourth. At face value they also went backwards in the Olympics because in London they returned with a goal and a point.
There is a huge possibility that they could return with neither of that in Brazil, even though certain aspects of their game have grown. That will be put to the test in Cameroon later this year. After losing in four finals of the AWCN, for that growth to be meaningful, they have to end the year as African champions.
The Star