THE SA Under-17 women’s team head into their final Group B match against Brazil needing victory to stand a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup.
The do-or-die match will take place at Estadio Charrúa Montevideo in Uruguay tonight (7pm SA time).
Bantwana’s chances of making it out of their group hang in the balance after they were spanked 6-0 by rampant Japan in their second group game on Friday.
They are at the bottom of their group with one point, equal with their next opponents Brazil, who are in third place. Japan and Mexico are joint top of the group with four points each.
Simphiwe Dludlu’s charges have to beat traditional football powerhouse Brazil by a huge margin and hope the loser in the Japan and Mexico game loses by a big margin.
Despite the odds being stacked against them, Bantwana goalkeeper Kaydee Windvogel believes they can still progress. “I do think we stand a chance against Brazil, it’s not the first time we face them. We drew the first one but can’t bank on the past, this is a different ball game,” she told Safa’s offocial website.
Bantwana have yet to score a goal in Uruguay and have only registered three shots on target in their two group stage games so far.
The 16-year-old shot-stopper said they had to improve their offensive play to compete with Brazil. “I am confident we will give Brazil a good game. We have to score goals, play our heart outs and do it for each other. Most importantly we need to give support up-front and get the ball into the back of the net.”
