Banyana's growth since 2019 gives them confidence of beating Argentina: Ellis

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis believes the experience her team has gained and growth they have shown since the 2019 Fifa Women's World Cup in France is helping them in the 2023 edition in New Zealand and Australia.

Banyana need a win in their second group G game against Argentina on Friday (2am SA time) to keep their chances of progressing to the second round alive after coming close to earning a draw in the opening tie against third-ranked Sweden in Wellington on Sunday. 

The 54th-ranked Africans champions meet the 28th-ranked South Americans, who started with a 1-0 defeat to 16th-ranked Italy, at  Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

Ellis' team lost all three of their matches against Spain (3-1), China (1-0) and Germany (4-0) in France four years ago, but after seeing her side holding their own against the Swedes, she is not doubting the progress the African champions have made. 

“I think it’s different circumstances. Back then we had an idea of what to expect but we also didn’t know what to expect. And in the end we couldn’t hold out — a bit of tactical endurance was not there, there was a bit of naiveté,” Ellis explained after Sweden's last-gasp 2-1 win against Banyana.

“I think we’re more mature now. We also have grown. I think winning the Wafcon [Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which Banyana won] last year was a big plus for us. We had a lot of challenges in that tournament and through those we rose, and I think that has really brought the team together.”

Ellis is excited about the growth she's seeing in players she suffered with in France and those making their debut in New Zealand.

The Banyana coach said the maturity of the team gives her a great deal of confidence going into the last two group matches - Banyana's last game is against Italy back in Wellington on August 2.

“We pride ourselves on teamwork, and we’ve been working on [studying] Sweden since we knew we were going to play against them, not forgetting the other teams in the group because we needed to get a positive result. And even though we lost I think it’s still a positive result.

“I think from 2019 to 2023 it’s a different team. We’ve got players playing at good clubs abroad, our league has got better. It’s not where we want to be because it’s still an amateur league.

“But the players have got better. We [the coaching staff] have got more experience. When we came to the World Cup [in 2019] all of us were newbies — now we’ve got a bit more experience.

“So we’re really looking forward to the next games, and really proud of the performance [against Sweden].”

Argentina go into Friday's match in the same position as Banyana — looking for their first points. 

The Argentinians were not markedly outplayed conceding a late goal against Italy on Monday and closely matched their opponents in possession and attempts at goal. 

Ellis was happy with the way South Africa prepared for Sweden and says they will take a similar intensity into their last two group games.

“The way we trained was spot on. We knew we would get chances in transition and if we had taken those and made better decisions in the final third we would be talking something different,” she said.   

“We showed resilience, We showed bravery. We said this time we would show what South Africa was really about and I think people definitely saw a big difference compared to 2019.”

Italy meet Sweden on Saturday.

Support independent journalism by subscribing to TimesLIVE Premium. Just R80 per month.