Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has warned her charges ahead of their Group G 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup must-win encounter against Italy.
The two teams head into the encounter, eyeing nothing but a victory which will see them progress to the Round of 16.
Going into the match, Italy are low on confidence after they were thrashed 5-0 by Sweden on their last outing.
On the other hand, the reigning African champions are aiming to build from their last performance against Argentina, where they blew a two-goal cushion and drew 2-2.
DESIREE ELLIS ON FACING ITALY IN A MUST-WIN MATCH
According to Ellis, her side shouldn’t take Italy lightly or underestimate their opponent based on their last result against Sweden.
All Banyana should focus on is their game plan, tactics and instructions to grind the results.
“I think we professional enough not to look into that [Italy 5-0 defeat]. If we look at the goals that were conceded that were from corners which we handled a little bit better, they couldn’t handle,” said Ellis.
“We know what to expect from Italy, and we’ll leave no stone unturned. We’ve played two different types of games in this tournament. The first one was a bit more defensive, the second one a bit more open.
“We have to get the result, we cannot think that it’s just going to fall on our laps. We going to leave everything on the field and make sure we get what we deserve.”
DESIREE ELLIS BELIEVES BANYANA BANYANA DESERVES MORE IN THE WORLD CUP
Ellis further believes her side has played well in the tournament. However, they’ve been unlucky, as results have not gone their way.
In their opening match, Sweden came from a goal down to win 2-1. In the second match, Argentina came 2-0 to salvage a draw.
“To be honest, we deserve more in this tournament, but we didn’t get it. Now it’s up to us to go that extra mile and get the result.
“We’ve come here to go to the second round though it’s our second World Cup. We know the quality that we have, so we working hard to get the result,” she added.
Kickoff on Wednesday 2 August at Wellington Regional Stadium is at 9 am [SA time].
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