Banyana Banyana's coach Vera Pauw was able to crack a smile after her team's 5-1 demolition of Algeria in their final group game at the Independence Stadium on Saturday.
Banyana's semifinal opponents, Nigeria, watched with a vested interest. Having topped Group A, they knew their opponents would come from the second Group B clash, as Ghana had too much ground to cover , having slipped up badly in the opening round .
The group stage matches tested Banyana's resolve, but the Super Falcons are one team Pauw preferred not to face in the lead-up to the tournament.
Still smarting from their 2012 African Women's Championship 1-0 semifinal defeat to South Africa, Nigeria will be out to avenge that loss on Wednesday.
"It is great to play Nigeria because they are inspiring opponents. Preparations for the game start immediately and we will analyse all the games Nigeria have played in this tournament," Pauw said.
Banyana's improvement, which was underlined by Saturday's complete performance, made Pauw happy. She said it was about time her team came to the party.
But Pauw said their win over Algeria would be forgotten by the time they got back to training as they chose the hottest time of the day to train, with Nigeria's endurance in mind.
While the Super Falcons cruised through the group stages, Namibia gave them their sternest test. Although Nigeria ran out comfortable 2-0 victors, they have defensive issues they need to iron out.
Nigeria will pose a different threat for Banyana though. They completed their group games early. "Nigeria have had three rest days while, on the other side, we have only two days. Y ou need three days to recover from a game," said Pauw.
"We know [that] we will be facing strength and pressure that we have not faced in the tournament."
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