Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has reacted to being called ‘underdogs’ ahead of their 2023 Women’s FIFA World Cup match against the Netherlands.
The two sides lock horns on Sunday 6 August in the Round of 16, eyeing nothing other than a spot in the quarter-finals.
Netherlands has enjoyed a good run in the tournament so far. In three matches, they have won two and drew one. To add, they are one of the highest-scoring teams in the tournament with nine goals.
On the other hand, the reigning African champions have been great in from of goal, but shaky at the back. Banyana have scored six goals and let in six as well.
DESIREE ELLIS ON FACING NETHERLANDS
“It’s a final, you cannot think beyond this. It’s not about three points, it’s about getting through,” said Ellis.
“We don’t feel we’re underdogs, we feel we deserve to be here and we’ve shown in our performances that we deserve to be here. We have a game to play, we’ll give it our best shot.
“When we came here we said we want to get out of the group stages, we’ve done that.”
DESIREE ELLIS BELIEVES BANYANA BANYANA CAN CAUSE AN UPSET AGAINST NETHERLANDS
Ellis further believes her charges got all it takes to go all the way and cause an upset against the Netherlands. The opponent is one of the highly rated teams ranked ninth in the FIFA rankings.
“The sky is the limit, we living the impossible here. Nobody gave us a chance, but this group of players have shown through adversity and challenges that they can rise. I foresee them rising again.
“We know who we playing, but they don’t know who they playing because this group when the chips are down they’ve gotten better and better. All I can say is there is going to be a match tomorrow,” she added.
Kickoff at Allianz Stadium, Sydney is at 4am [SA time].
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