DESIREE Ellis has no illusions about Banyana Banyana’s standing in international football.
But the Banyana coach certainly does not lack ambition to take her team to a higher level at the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup, following their heroics at the recent Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (Women’s Afcon).
Those who thought the Afcon draw was tough certainly haven’t seen Banyana’s group in the 2019 World Cup.
SA have been paired with world No 2 ranked Germany, Spain and China in Group B.
“It really is a tough draw. But so are the rest of the groups,” said Ellis.
“You cannot expect an easy draw, really. It is what it is. We just have to prepare and plan really well, triple our efforts of this year and tackle the next challenge head on.
“When we drew Nigeria t Afcon, people were asking ‘are you sure you can get a point off Nigeria’. But we beat them.”
Ellis was in awe, sitting among the top coaches at the draw ceremony in Paris on Saturday, her short stature probably making her stand out from the European giants.
But there will be nothing small about the expectations from the nation, not after Banyana’s impressive showing in the Women’s Afcon in Cameroon, where they bagged silver.
Banyana face a rematch with China, to whom they lost 2-0 in the Rio Olympics.
However, that only comes after they tackle Spain in their opening tournament fixture. They complete their group with the Germany clash.
“We’ve played China before, in the 2016 Olympics, and did really well even though we lost 2-0,” Ellis said.
“We haven’t played any of the other teams in the group. But we’ll gather as much information as we can on them. We’ll have to be in superb physical condition.”
It doesn’t bother Ellis much that Banyana are the lowest ranked team in Group B.
“When you play against the top 10 that’s when the rankings really matter. But at the end of the day it’s 11 versus 11. We showed at Afcon that we didn’t just go there to make up the numbers. The players have it in them to put up superb performances.
“This is an opportunity for them to showcase their talent, to try and get bigger and better contracts. In the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, we went there and competed. But now we have to do more than that.
“The draw experience was amazing. I was in awe. I’ve seen the draw on the telly, but being here is amazing. Coaches who have won the World Cup before recognised me!”
