South Africa women national team head coach Desiree Ellis has revealed that her side are well prepared ahead of their clash against Nigeria on Tuesday.
Defending champions Banyana Banyana face off against the Super Falcons in the last four of the ongoing Women’s African Cup of Nations in Morocco on Tuesday evening, with a place in the final at stake for both sides.
South Africa eliminated Senegal via penalties after a goalless regulation time in their quarterfinal clash, while Nigerian produced a dominant display to defeat Zambia 5-0 in their last eight clash.
Speaking ahead of the Tuesday’s tie, Ellis acknowledged the threat posed by the Super Falcons but remained confident in her side’s abilities.
“Any team you play against has threats, there’s no two ways about it. And Nigeria not having conceded obviously shows how good their defence is and they’ve scored goals, shows how good their attack is,” Ellis told reporters.
“We just have to be on top of our game and try to nullify those threats and take opportunities when they come because against Senegal we had few and didn’t take them.
So it’s a game of ninety minutes, maybe extra time, maybe penalties, and we just have to be on top of our game because we are coming up against an opponent that’s very strong, an opponent that hasn’t conceded, that has scored goals. So we have to make sure we have a plan A, plan B and plan C”, she continued.
South Africa defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the group stages of the last edition, before going on to secure a first-ever tournament win against Morocco in the final.
“The quality they have in the team has always stood out, the experience they have in the team has always stood out, the confidence they have in the team has always stood out.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve sort of matched that. They have now a really good squad that has transitioned and they’ve shown it at this tournament”, Ellis added.
“We know a lot of them and I think they know as much as we know of them. So, it’s going to be a very interesting match.”
The winner of the semifinal tie between both continental powerhouses goes on to face either Morocco or Ghana in the final on Saturday.
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