After a three-hour-45-minute flight from Johannesburg on Thursday, night (30 July) and an hour’s bus drive, Banyana Banyana arrived safely in Machakos, Kenya – just southeast of the capital Nairobi.

After a three-hour-45-minute flight from Johannesburg on Thursday, night (30 July) and an hour’s bus drive, Banyana Banyana arrived safely in Machakos, Kenya – just southeast of the capital Nairobi.

The South Africans take on the home side at the Machakos Stadium on Sunday, 2 August 2015.

The second leg third 2016 Rio Olympic qualifier kicks off at 14h30 South African time.

The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana will have their first training on Friday afternoon (31 July) at the match venue, and will complete their preparations at the same stadium on Saturday afternoon (1 August).

SAFA Media sat down with captain Janine van Wyk before they departed for training.

Matlhomola Morake: We have arrived in Kenya meaning we are edging closer to the game, how is the mood like in camp, what is the feeling of the team?

Janine van Wyk: Everyone is really hungry to play on Sunday, we know it is a really difficult task lying ahead of us. But we have settle well in this beautiful hotel here in Machakos, and they have treated us very well since our arrival. We expected mind games from them but so far everything s going very well. Today we have our first training session in Kenya and we will see how it goes. We are all looking forward to the match.

MM: Is the team thinking about the first leg victory or this is a new game altogether?

JvW: We know we have quite a bit of pressure on us but I always tell the team that it is good pressure because if we had won by a big margin we would arrive here complacent and that is very dangerous. Yes the first leg victory puts us a step ahead but it also means we need to be on guard because they are going to come out very strong and its going to make us concentrate on the game more than any other game we have played where the lead was bigger. The girls know it is a very important one for us, hopefully we can get a good result – get an early goal so we can be settled and confident enough to play our own game. We are also aware that a draw would be good enough for us but we would like to score one or two goals to make sure of going to the next stage.

MM: Still final round to come after this match, already thinking about that?

JvW: We have to take it step by step – overcome Kenya first. We can’t be thinking ahead meanwhile we are not there yet. We taking it one match at a time and we have passed Kenya we can think about the next opponents.

MM: You were in London in 2012, how was the feeling and what do you tell the other players to encourage them?

JvW: It was an amazing feeling, an awesome experience – one I would really like to relive again. I know we have some players in the squad who were not at the tournament and are just as hungry to get that behind their names – but we are all on the same page, we all know what we want. There are also some players who have been there and want to do it again, like myself. And also, this time I would like to lead the team (if you remember Amanda Dlamini was the captain in London), for me it would be a great feeling. But that’s something that we can only think about when we get there, right now we need to focus on Kenya and overcome it.

MM: How important is it to have some players around you who were in London – Nyandeni, Jane, Dlamini, Barker, Vilakazi – among others?

JvW: It is good to have them around and they can share their experience with the rest of the team, and when the chips are down they can also uplift the team. I am really privileged to have them around me it takes pressure off my shoulders as the captain.

MM: Any last word to the fans back home?

JvW: We promise to give our best, as we always do – for our country, ourselves, our families and all the people back home. Hopefully we can get a good result and we can then celebrate together when we come back.