Banyana Banyana hope to add the “final touches” to their make-up for the Rio Olympics when they face New Zealand in their last warm-up game on Thursday evening.
And no, it’s not the make-up that ladies normally wear, but rather how they want to shape up in next Wednesday’s Olympic opener against Sweden.
Banyana’s clash against New Zealand (7pm SA time kickoff) is the last chance for coach Vera Pauw to run the rule over her squad, so the players will be going all out to prove that they should make the starting line-up next week.
The South Africans arrived in Rio on Sunday already, and were the first local team to move into the official athletes’ village. But they have got down to business immediately and are determined to get going against New Zealand.
“We need to work the final touches of the team organisation, as to how we are actually going to play in the tournament – we know all of that already, but the focus against New Zealand will be working on those moments when you want to change or influence the game in different ways,” Pauw said on the SA Football Association website on Thursday.
“This is also a test for the players to see who is ready because the sharpest players will play against Sweden. With this friendly, we have to see if we are at our best again – and by that I mean the level of performance against the USA, which I believe is the best game that we have played so far.
“But in the back of our minds we already have the matches against Sweden, then China and Brazil, and we are preparing for those encounters.”
That 1-0 defeat to reigning Olympic and world champions USA in Chicago a few weeks ago filled the Banyana squad with confidence and gave them the belief that they could compete with the best in the world.
South Africa are ranked 52nd on the Fifa list, but after being so competitive against the No 1 American team, they won’t feel overawed when taking on New Zealand, who are at No 17.
The Kiwis are vastly experienced, having featured in the last three Olympics and World Cup, so Banyana striker Jermaine Seoposenwe – who is from Cape Town, but now attends and plays for Samford University in Alabama in the US – knows that they will be a good gauge for the South Africans.
“Tactically, physically and mentally we are almost there, so as the next game (New Zealand) comes, it will help in terms of getting to the point where we want to be,” said the 22-year-old, who scored the winning goal against Equatorial Guinea that secured Banyana’s qualification for Rio.
“From there we will be able to tell if we are still lacking, so I am excited and everyone is focused on the task at hand. Hopefully we can get a good result out of our first game.”
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