Banyana captain reveals what US player told her

The US national Soccer Women’s team Carli Lloyd has told Banyana Banyana skipper Janine van Wyk that the team has a stable defence despite beating them 3-0 in a friendly match played in California last weekend.

Van Wyk, who had a stint in the US with Houston Dash says she spoke with Lloyd after the game, where the two time Olympic gold champion revealed that they found it very hard to break Banyana’s defence.

“I think we have mastered being compact and not allowing a team like the US or any stronger team to break us. I spoke to one of the key players at the US Carli Lloyd and she mentioned how hard and tough it was to break us down and get those goals. So it means something to us,” said Van Wyk.

With that said, the Banyana skipper believes now the team has to work much harder on their attacking force with the 2019 Fifa World Cup in France fast approaching.

“But going forward we really need to work on our attacking force and how we get into the opposition half. Because it is really difficult to defend for 90 minutes, especially with the talent we have in the team. Of course, we missed Thembi Kgatlana, Linda Motlhalo and Leandra Smeda because they help us in our attack. But, overall, I think despite the goals we conceded, we put out a good fight and a good show. We have obviously learned a few things and we will take them to our next camps before the World Cup.”

The tournament kicks-off on June 7 and will run up until July 7. But before that, the South African senior national women’s team have one more friendly to play, with a meeting against Norway set for June 2 in France.

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