Banyana are dreaming big with Dutch test looming

Banyana Banyana will aim to keep on dreaming at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand when they take on Netherlands in the last 16 in Sydney tomorrow (kick off 4am SA time).  

Banyana have given hope to a nation after they battled past Italy with a 3-2 win on Wednesday that was enough to seal their place in the next round as Group G runners-up.

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Their explosive performance against Italy has really boosted the team’s confidence in their ability to stay in the tournament and goalkeeper Kaylin Swart believes anything is possible once a team makes it to the knockout stages. 

“We really put up a good fight in our last game. Now it’s all about continuity and trying to be better,” said the shot-stopper.

“It’s another game with different opponents, we have managed to prepare well for them. Our technical team has really worked hard in order to make sure we are ready by Sunday.

“It is just about having hope and putting in the hard work. We are ready for the match and we just have to keep on doing well in the competition. This is only our second World Cup and the team has really improved, we know that we can compete against any opponent.” 

Banyana play a Dutch side that went through the group stages unbeaten. After edging out Portugal 1-0, the Netherlands, who were runners up at the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup, drew 1-1 with the USA, the team that beat them in that 2019 final.

They finished off the group stages in some style, hammering Vietnam 7-0.

However, as much as Swart knows that Netherlands are a strong side, she says it’s all about who wants it most during the 90 minutes. 

“We know the kind of opponents we are playing against,” she continued.

“They are one of the best nations in women’s football. But as I said, we have prepared well for the game. Everyone is just focused on doing well and have forgotten about our last results. We are all looking forward to making the nation proud and we thank everyone who has been supporting us,” she continued. 

“Now it’s all about us doing the job in the field and continuing to dream big.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Bongeka Gamede says they will be looking to minimise the mistakes they made against Italy when taking on the Dutch.  

“We just have to look at our mistakes and try to work on them. I’m sure once we manage that we will be able to capitalise against the Netherlands even though they are a big team. I’m still positive that we will be able to go to the next round,” said Gamede.