The South African u20 Women’s National Team, Basetsana, is confident of coming away with victory when they face Zambia in the second leg of their 2016 Papua New Guinea Women’s u20 World Cup qualifier.
The South African u20 Women’s National Team, Basetsana, is confident of coming away with victory when they face Zambia in the second leg of their 2016 Papua New Guinea Women’s u20 World Cup qualifier.
The match will be played on Saturday, 10 October at the Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa. Kickoff is at 15h00.
The first leg between the two nations ended in a goalless stalemate in Zambia about two weeks ago.
The visitors have already arrived in South Africa and will train at the match venue on Friday, 9 October at 15h00, with Basetsana completing their preparations at the same place an hour later.
“This weekend we are going in strong and we expect to score some goals and not to concede. We are really up for this game. We played against them in the first leg, we got to see their weaknesses and where we can capitalize. The fact that we also know what to expect will push us to go in stronger. We are playing at home and cannot afford to lose when we did so well away,” said Basetsana midfielder Gabriela Salgado.
Having been able to keep things tight at the back in Zambia, the South Africans are well aware that it will be even more crucial to do so in their backyard.
“With the formation that we are playing, I want to believe our defence will be very strong as we cannot afford to let in even one goal as that would be a mountain to climb for us. I strongly believe in the capability of the players in camp. We have lost some players through injury who were in Zambia but I am confident those that will take their place will also do a good job. Everyone is hyped up and excited for the game. We are all focused because we want to achieve something this weekend,” added Salgado.
“As we speak now, when I think about qualifying I can feel some goose bumps all over me. If we can do that (qualify) it is going to be a great achievement for us as a team and for women’s football in general.”
Basetsana will be without the injured duo of defenders Chamelle Wiltshire and Bongeka Gamede who played against Zambia in the first leg. Defenders Leigh Daniels (Golden Stars), Jamie-Lee Witbooi (Spurs WFC) and Babalwa Mngxunya (RV United) have been brought alongside striker Thembi Kgatlana (UWC).