Banyana Banyana will be without inspirational captain Refiloe Jane and defender Bambanani Mbane for their trip to four-time World Cup winners the United States, as the duo are injured.
Coach Desiree Ellis named her final 23-player squad yesterday to face the US in Cincinnati and Chicago on 21 and 24 September.
Banyana, fresh off a confidence-boosting World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand, take on one of the highest-ranked teams in the world with just two changes to the squad that exited the tournament in the last 16.
Ellis revealed her intentional of retaining of the World Cup group, while also explaining her desire to use the absence of two of their core players as a way to hand valuable opportunities to other players, with the likes of defender Lonathemba Mhlongo and midfielder Sinoxolo Cesane (sister of Noxolo Cesane) selected.
“It’s a little bit of both (continuation and new faces). The league just recently restarted, so there wasn’t a lot to see – but you also want to reward the players who were at the World Cup, because they did magnificently,” Ellis said.
“You also want to have that consistency, considering that you have a qualifier coming up and you want to give other players replacing Refiloe Jane and Bambanani a chance to show (what they can do).”
Banyana will meet a US team looking to redeem themselves after also crashing out of the global showpiece in the round of 16.
The women’s football powerhouses are currently filtering in the next generation of stars, with the old guard stepping aside – an adjustment that has proven difficult.
However, Ellis revealed that her side would seek to grab a historic result against their third-ranked opponents.
“It really gives us a boost. We know when we play against the better-ranked countries, we have to get positive results to also increase our ranking,” she said.
“Every team goes through a transition period, but with them playing at home after the World Cup, they will want to put up a performance to cheer their fans up, and I expect our players to put up a similar performance to get a result.”
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