Banyana Banyana have been eliminated from the FIFA Women’s World Cup after a 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands at Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday.
As a result, Desiree Ellis‘ charges have failed to advance to the quarter-finals of this prestigious tournament.
South Africa progressed to the World Cup round of 16 following their 3-2 historic win over Italy last week.
The showdown started at a slow pace, with both sides trying to find each other’s game plan.
But, Ellis’ side were tested to the maximum against the Dutch side.
As the first half wore on, Banyana began to be cautious of the Northwestern European nation’s approach.
However, that did not last long as Jill Roord broke the deadlock in the ninth minute of the contest from a set piece.
The showpiece got physical with Jermaine Seoposenwe getting injured in the process and couldn’t recover. She was then replaced in the 30th minute by Wendy Shongwe.
Things went from bad to worse for Banyana as they suffered another injury blow. The match had to be paused with Bambanani Mbane on the ground after a rough challenge.
Mbane also did not recover from the rough tackle and was taken out in the 41st minute. Tiisetso Makhubela came on to replace her.
Banyana fought hard to pull one back before the half-time break, but luck was not on their side.
NETHERLANDS LEADING AT THE HALF-TIME
The game went into the interval with the Netherlands leading South Africa by a 1-0 scoreline.
In the second stanza, Banyana thought they would pull up their socks with the hopes of bouncing back stronger into the match, but that was never meant to be.
Instead, South Africa kept getting further away from their goals in the second period.
Ellis’ troops tried to take a strong foothold, but never managed to breakthrough the Netherlands’ resilient defence.
Sadly, in the 68th minute, the Netherlands added to the scoreline through Beerensteyn.
SOUTH AFRICA COMING BACK HOME
The final whistle blew with the Netherlands smiling to the tournament’s quarter-finals following their 2-0 win.
With that being said, the defeat ended Banyana’s dreams to continue making history at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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