CAPE TOWN – Banyana Banyana forward Thembi Kgatlana has urged her teammates to respond with resilience and determination as South Africa prepare for a crucial 2026 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Group B clash against Côte d’Ivoire at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca on Friday evening (19h00 SA time).
South Africa suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Tanzania in their opening fixture earlier this week, leaving Desiree Ellis’ side needing a positive result to keep their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages firmly alive.
Kgatlana believes the squad has used the time since the defeat to reflect and refocus ahead of the must-win encounter.
“It’s a big game for us, the second one on the group, and we know from the results that we got in the first match that it didn’t go our way,” said Kgatlana.
“I think we’ve had days and time to reflect so that we may be able to face Ivory Coast tomorrow.
“The coaches have given us tips, we’ve worked on yesterday’s training, we had another training today to be able to work on our game plan so that we may be able to execute it well tomorrow at the game.”
The experienced striker insists the team has overcome adversity before and is confident they can do so again.
“I mean, football is a game of emotions, everyone wants to win, but it is the teams that lose and then pick themselves up and then come back, and we have that opportunity,” she said.
“We’ve been in a similar situation before where things didn’t go our way, but the next game we came back, we understood the game plan and we executed it well.
“I think, as I said, the day of the game when we lost, everyone was down, allowed everyone to feel the emotions, came back the next day, we understood that it’s gone, a new day to look forward and to train and get better.”
Despite the opening setback, Kgatlana remains confident that Banyana Banyana still control their own destiny.
“I think we’re still in the tournament, that’s why we have three games,” she adds.
“It’s the first game, of course, it doesn’t determine where we’re going to end. We have another opportunity tomorrow to play and another opportunity to play in the coming week”.
