On Saturday, coach Desiree Ellis announced her Banyana Banyana squad to face Brazil in two high-profile friendlies to mixed reactions.
The two friendly matches will be played in South Africa next month. The first match will take place at Orlando Stadium on September 2 (18:00) and then face off in the second encounter three days later at a venue to be confirmed.
The three-time CAF Women’s Coach of the Year’s 23-member squad got some football fanatics arguing that player X should have been included at the expense of player Y.
A few players who were part of the WAFCON winning squad have been left out.
There are two notable absentees from the Banyana squad except for Thembi Kgatlana, who everybody is aware that she is still nursing her injury (ruptured Achilles tendon) that she sustained during the group stage of the WAFCON tournament in their 1-0 win against Botswana. The two noticeable absentees are defender Noko Matlou and midfielder Sibulele Holweni.
a) Noko Matlou
If you browsed social media immediately after Ellis’ squad announcement, one name repeatedly popped up: Noko Matlou. Many Banyana fans kept asking, “where is Matlou?”. The fans argued that the SD Eibar defender would have provided the much-needed experience that would seem to be sorely lacking in South Africa’s defence following her stellar performances at the WAFCON tournament held in Morocco.
She has represented Banyana both as a striker and a defender. In 2008, Matlou became the first South African to be named African Women’s Footballer of the Year.
However, Ellis revealed that Matlou is being left out due to visa challenges.
b) Sibulele Holweni
The University of the Western Cape midfielder omission left fans confused by the news that one of their key starting midfield maestro wouldn’t be part of the Banyana squad.
Holweni made her senior debut on 12 May 2019 in a 3-0 friendly loss to the United States. On 9 November 2020, Holweni made headlines when she scored five goals in the team’s 7-0 win over Comoros in Group A of the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Championship, where South Africa finished at the top of their group and advanced to the knockout stage.
But it was revealed by the coach that Holweni is out due to an injury sustained during the WAFCON quarterfinal against Tunisia.
