Former Banyana Banyana star Portia Modise has revealed three important things the team need to fix ahead of their preparations for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
The 2022 African champions have been in poor form after winning the title earlier this year in Morocco.
Banyana have lost three matches in a row and have been struggling to score goals, finding the back of the net only once.
This led to Banyana Banyana fans getting worried about the team’s performance a few months before the global showpiece.
UNITY
The South African football legend, Modise says Banyana must pay as a unit.
“When the team is under pressure, all players must help out; defending is not the job of the defenders only. If they are united and play as a team, results will definitely start coming our way,” Modise told FARPost.
“When playing for the national team, there must not be individuality. That’s where the problem starts and kills our football.”
BALANCE THE SQUAD
She also highlighted the importance of Banyana coach Desiree Ellis striking the right balance in the squad.
“I think the squad should have a mixture of youngsters and experienced players,” added Modise.
“This is important because it will bring balance to the team heading to the World Cup. I believe all teams are doing all that, older players are needed in the team to guide the young ones.
START SCORING GOALS
Banyana have been firing blanks in recent matches, which is a concern for Modise, who used to score goals for fun in her days. It is worth noting that Modise is the first African player to score 100 international goals.
“I believe we have been struggling to score goals, if you go back to our previous three matches we only scored one goal,” he said.
“We have good quality strikers who are known for scoring goals, all we need to do is to bring back the confident and start scoring goals and win matches.”
For the World Cup, Banyana were placed in a tough group alongside Sweden, Italy and Argentina.
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