Draw leaves Banyana with a tough task
● Banyana Banyana were left with a lot to do in the second leg, second round, of their Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifier after a 0-0 draw against a formidable Botswana in Gaborone on Friday.
The SA senior women’s team will host their neighbours at the Orlando Stadium in the return leg on Tuesday, with the winner passing to the third round.
Even if Banyana go past Botswana their qualification for Tokyo, which will mean a third Olympic appearance in a row, will be far from over with only the winners of the two-legged fifth round guaranteed to take Africa’s single automatic spot.
The loser in that deciding tie will then be involved in a play-off against the South American Football Federation runners-up, with the winner making it to the 12 teams that will compete in Tokyo. Chile are already waiting for Africa’s runner-up, having finished second behind Brazil in their qualifiers in South America.
Hosts Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, England, Netherlands and Sweden have already qualified for next year’s showpiece.
Going to make sure
Speaking immediately after the game against Botswana, Banyana’s stand-in skipper, Refiloe Jane, said: “We take positives from the game because we didn’t lose and we didn’t concede. There’s no doubt that the second leg will also be tough, but we’re going there to make sure we go through.”
Banyana coach Desire Ellis pointed out that the pitch in Gaborone didn’t make it easy for her players but she was nevertheless happy to come back without having let in a goal.
“I thought there were even chances from both sides. The big thing is that we didn’t concede.
“We drew in 2017 and we beat them 1-0 in 2018 and today was a draw. So we knew the games against them are always tight.”
With the home support behind them in Orlando, Ellis said she was confident her team will make it to the next round where they are likely to meet Zambia, who beat Zimbabwe 5-0 on Friday.
The SA Under-23 men’s qualification battle for Tokyo will resume on Thursday when they face Zimbabwe in the third round at the Milpark Stadium. The return leg will be played on Sunday at Zimbabwe’s National Sports Stadium in Harare. The winner will qualify for Caf’s eight-nation tournament (in Egypt) which will produce the three teams to represent Africa in Tokyo.