Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis has revealed how she plans to approach the all-important FIFA Women’s World Cup clash against Argentina on Friday.
The game is set to kick off at 2:00 [South Africa time] at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The three-time CAF Women’s Coach of the Year suggested that she is not planning to deviate from her usual setup to play on the counter-attack in the must-win encounter against the South American side.
Ellis reckons that Banyana’s strength on the counter-attack has proven to be a key factor in their success in the past.
HOW DESIREE ELLIS PLANS TO APPROACH ARGENTINA MATCH
“We know a lot of Argentina. We saw their game against Italy, which was very physical,” said Ellis. “Obviously, we have to move the ball around quicker.
“They do have very skilful players, but we know that a lot of our goals are scored on counter-attacks which is one of our strengths. If we could get that right, we will score goals tomorrow.
“The first thing is not to concede and be defensively sound. We were very happy in the Sweden match because, in some of the games, we conceded very early.
“Leading to the World Cup, we worked a lot on that in making sure that we stay compact and organised defensively for the first 15 to 20 minutes and launch from there.”
NOT GOING TO BE AN EASY GAME
The 60-year-old Banyana mentor went on to reveal that is not going to be a walk in the park when they battle it out with Argentina, having lost their first game against Sweden with a 2-1 scoreline.
“We know is not only us who wants to win the game, but also Argentina needs to win the game as well. So, we have worked a lot on what we are good at, but we also worked a lot on what we are not good at, and that’s defending without the ball,” she added.
“But, it’s not going to be an easy game. We know Argentina is a very good side, as we saw that against Italy. However, we will play our own game and create chances and put them away, we will get positive results.”
Nonetheless, this is a do-or-die clash, and Banyana are well aware of what’s at stake, as they cannot afford to disappoint their nation.
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