Banyana want to beat Botswana and end top of Group C

Banyana Banyana want to ensure they end top of Group C of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) with a win against Botswana in their final round-robin stage game in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday night.

The SA Women’s heroic 2-1 opening win against Nigeria and 3-1 victory against Burundi, both at Stade Prince Moulay El Hassan, saw them through to the quarterfinals with a match to spare.

Banyana move to Rabat’s Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah for the game against Botswana (9pm in Morocco, 10pm SA time). Beating Botswana there will see SA top the group, and face a theoretically easier quarterfinal against one of the two best third-place finishers from the three groups.

“We haven’t prepared any differently. There’s very little time in-between games — there’s just two days,” Banyana coach Desiree Ellis said.

“So it’s just about making sure we maintain everything. But we know a lot about Botswana — I think as much as they know about us.

“We’ve played each other on numerous occasions and still have memories of when they knocked us out of the Olympics in 2019, so we know the threat they pose. But we’ve also since gotten many positive results against them.

“We want to make sure we get maximum points and end top of the group.”

Ellis rotated to some extent for the game against Burundi and hinted that some of her players who have played two full games might be given a rest against Botswana.

SA arrived in a rare cool spell in the North African summer, and temperatures have since warmed to a more characteristic 30°C in the day.

Banyana’s 6pm Morocco time kickoff game against Burundi was played in fairly hot conditions, and some of the players from that matchup could do with a refresher sitting out the Botswana clash, which has a kickoff at the relatively cooler 9pm slot.

“We like to make sure we keep the squad fresh. There are some players who have played two 90 minutes in a row,” Ellis said.

“And these weather conditions are not something we are used to — it’s winter back in SA. It was extremely energy-sapping against Burundi but we will put the best available team on the pitch.”

Botswana (three points) and Burundi (zero points) are both tournament rookies. Nigeria (three points), 11-time champions of the Wafcon, will be out to clinch their qualification for the quarters by beating Burundi at Stade Prince Moulay El Hassan.