‘We must show the same mentality,’ Mbane says as Banyana focus on Tanzania

Banyana Banyana's veteran defender Bambanani Mbane believes if they maintain the mentality they showed against Ghana in their opening match at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco they'll earn another three points against Tanzania on Friday.

The defending champions kicked off the tournament with a convincing 2-0 win over Ghana at the Stade d'Honneur in Oujda on Monday, where Linda Motlhalo and Jermaine Seoposenwe sealed the victory with first-half goals.

“If we go with the same mentality we showed in the first game [we'll be OK],” said Mbane, who earned the Player of the Match award against Ghana.

“Tanzania lost their first match [1-0 against Mali], so they will want to prove they're a team that can do better. We need to maintain the same mentality we showed in the first game and not change.”

Banyana have played Tanzania in the past 18 months, beating them 2-0 away and 1-0 at home in an Olympic qualifier in February last year. Mbane said those results will have no affect on what will happen on Friday. 

“This is new game and it's a tournament, anything is possible, and we're not talking about what happened before, we're talking about now and we don't how much they've prepared.” 

Since arriving in Morocco, where they won the Wafcon for the first time in 2022, Banyana have had to get used to the midsummer heat, different to the chilly winter they left in South Africa. The 5pm local time kickoff game against Ghana was played in 34°C.

“But I liked our mentality — it's a mentality of winners and that will take us far in the tournament,” Mbane said. “Even when we might have obstacles — if we can overcome the heat, we can get a lot of things.”

Mbane insisted there is no team in their group, including Tanzania, Banyana will underestimate. The defender said South Africa will show Tanzania the same respect they gave to Ghana, who were no pushovers.

“The only thing we were looking for [against Ghana] was to win. Our mentality was right in that we wanted to win and we were playing without underestimating anyone.

“We're the champions and we knew how important it was to win our first match. We knew the team we were playing against would want to win. We wanted to win that first match before thinking about the second.”

The 35-year-old Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies player said she was happy to be player of the match. “I didn't expect it because my work is to defend, but I was so happy to get the award.”

Banyana wrap up their Group C campaign against Mali, also at Stade d'Honneur, on Monday (also 9pm SA time).

South Africa will also play their quarterfinal in Oujda if they finish on top of their group.